Fuel scarcity worsens in Lagos state as more filling stations shut their pumps to motorists and other customers. This persisting scarcity in Lagos raises fear for other states that get supplies from Lagos.
As this fuel scarcity hits harder, causing motorist to spend long waiting hours at filling stations, some fuel marketers are forcedto hike the price of the product to N180 per liter.
Our analysts have noticed the continued queues outside filling stations along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ikorodu road, Ikoyi, and other parts of Lagos as both commercial and private consumers of the product storm filling stations in anticipation of the removal of fuel subsidy and further hike in the price.
Oil marketers lament over the shortage of supplies accompanied by an increased demand, and for customers, spending long hours in queues does them no good. Our analysts gathered this information as they interacted with the people.
According to Mr. Ayodeji Tayo, the NUPENG Lagos Zonal Council Chairman, in an interview with TV360 News, he stated that oil marketers rising cost of supplying the product cause the current situation. He said: the long queue in filling station is as a result of IPMAN members who are complaining seriously about higher transportation and operational cost.
He further stress that amidst this situation, it is not advisable for government to remove subsidy now.
A commercial motorist at Obalende who preferred to comment anonymously stated that, ‘’yesterday I queued for about 3 hours before I finally got this fuel and I am not even sure if I will beable to buy another one when this one finishes’’.
Other Findings
Commuters are stranded at the various locations where the scarcity persist as commercial motorists have ceased the opportunity to raise the transport fair, causing people to incur a significantly higher amount of money to move about.
Our analyst confirmed the increment in transport cost at Onipan,Yaba, Ajah, with commuters being charged twice the usualamount to get to Falomo from Obalende.