Fuel price halts at N200/litre, high fares linger
Motorists and commuters in Lagos and Ogun states on Tuesday again,
lamented the biting consequences of the lingering fuel scarcity as the
situation remained unchanged from the trends experienced over the past
two weeks.
Checks by our correspondents showed that the price of Premium Motor
Spirit, commonly referred to as petrol, seemed to have stalled at
N200/litre, about the same price the product has been selling in
Lagos, Abuja and some states over the past week.
It was also observed that a number of filling stations in Lagos
remained closed for business, ostensibly due to the unavailability of
the product.
Also, the few outlets dispensing the product in the cities had long
queues as motorists jostled to buy the product.
Further checks, also showed that transport fares across various parts
of Lagos maintained a 50 per cent hike due to the continued scarcity
of PMS. Some routes witnessed hikes as high as 100 per cent.
A commercial transport operator who plies the Berger/Mowe route
between Lagos and Ogun states said motorists were grappling with not
only a significant increase in fuel price, but also great difficulty
in accessing the product.
He said, “It’s because of the price which we are buying. For more than
a week, we’ve been buying fuel for N200/litre or almost N200/litre.
Apart from the increase in price, we often suffer before we can buy.
Many filling stations have closed for business. They refuse to sell
even though we know some of them to have fuel. Every day, I spend
hours before buying fuel.“
Passengers think we enjoy increasing our fares, but if we don’t
increase, we won’t make any profit. Even with the increase, we are
still not making what we make on a normal day, especially because of
the time it takes to buy fuel.”
A passenger who identified herself as Ganiyat said the increase in the
fares along the Berger/Ibafo axis was beginning to take a toll on the
commuters.
According to her, the fuel scarcity had led to a scarcity of
commercial buses, a situation which conventionally forces transport
fares to go up.
She said, “It is getting out of hand. I go from Ibafo to Lagos and
back every day. Normally, I pay N200 from Berger to Ibafo, but ever
since this fuel scarcity started, you have to make sure you come out
with enough money because you don’t even know how much they are going
to charge. Today, they are charging N500. On Saturday I paid N800 for
a trip I normally pay N200.”
Mr Cyril Ukpor, who resides at Iyana Ejigbo area of Lagos State,
however said he bought fuel at N165/litre at one of the outlets of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in the area.
Also, a resident who gave her name as Blessing said she bought the
product at N200/litre.
“I have been buying fuel for N200/litre. To me it is not really about
the price, it is about the availability of the product. Let the
product be readily available for us to buy. We know that whenever we
start seeing long queues like this, it is an indication that they want
to increase the pump price”
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