Scarcity bites harder as petrol now N550 in cities

The blame game over the five-month fuel scarcity continued at the weekend with motorists and other users of the product paying between N240 and N550 per litre in major cities across the country.

In Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Kwara  Abia, Anambra and Benue states, some independent marketers boldly displayed unofficial prices on their pumps. Others left the old official price of N167 per litre, but verbally announced higher prices to willing buyers.

In some of the stations, motorists still queued for hours. But, in others, it was drive-in and buy.

However, major marketers like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporaton (NNPC), still sold at N185, a price that was surreptitiously introduced over a week ago. Buying at many of the stations came with a condition introduced by greedy attendants and their managers: The term was a mandatory payment of  10 per cent on the quantity purchased

Our correspondents reported that most of the major marketers along routes like Bank Anthony, Ikeja;  Ikorodu Road;  Murtala Muhammed Road, Yaba and Obafemi Awolowo Road in  Ikoyi were under lock and key yesterday.  The few that opened for business had motorists waiting for hours.

In Akure, where motorists also stayed in lines for hours, pump price hit N500 per litre at petrol stations in the city.

A motorist however, told The Nation that he bought fuel along Ondo Road at N550 per litre.

Only independent marketers sold at between N300 and N380 in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Bovas, a private marketer, which sold for N190 per litre, had a long queue that caused gridlock. In the last three days, NNPC mega filling station in the city metropolis has been dispensing fuel at the approved official pump price. Nation