Nation
Fuel Scarcity Hits Harder In Dutse
The price of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) has risen to N340 per litre in Dutse, the Jigawa State Capital.
The situation has subjected the residents, especially motorists, to chaos and hardships due to the scarcity of the commodity.
The Tide’s source, who monitor petrol filling stations on Sunday, observed that long queues of vehicles distorted normalcy at the stations.
The filling stations are selling the product at exorbitant cost of N340 per litre while the Dutse NNPC mega station Retail Stations had been under lock and key since Jan. 8 following a fire outbreak.
Also, most of the filling stations within the city were not opened for a long period of time.
At Awajil Global Resources, IMG Petroleum, Maruta Petroleum and Investment, all on Ibrahim Aliyu bye-pass, motorists and commercial motorcyclists were on long queues waiting to refuel their tanks.
Also, Audu Manager filling station and AA Kankani Nig. Ltd, on Olusegun Obasanjo Road had long queues of vehicles, and were also selling the product at the same price.
Filling stations like A.S.A Oil Nig. Ltd., B.A Bello Nig. Ltd and Matrix, all on Ibrahim Aliyu bye-pass, were either not having or selling the product.
Most of the motorists who spoke with the source expressed dissatisfaction over the non availability of the product.
A motorist, Malam Aminu Muhammad, described the situation as frustrating and urged the Federal Government and other authorities concerned to bring lasting solutions to the chaos.
Also commenting, Muhammad Askira, said the Federal Government should ensure that security agencies monitored the filling stations and ensure that products were sold at the approved price.
Also, a farmer, Ahmad Rufa’i, said the ugly situation was making him to produce at loss.
“I plant wheat maize and every week I need at least 20 litres to water my farms. And I need to water these two farms at least 20 times.
“So how much money do you expect me to spend on fuel alone, not talk of transport and other logistics.
“So most of us are doing this farming without any certainty of wether we gain or we loose,” Rufa’i said.
The managements of the filling stations declined comments on the sad situation, because “we are not authorised to speak to the press”.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
