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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity Hits Lokoja
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008
Timothy Ajiboye
Lokoja
Following the scarcity of fuel being experienced in Lokoja, capital of kogi state, long queue of vehicle has resurfaced in the town just as operators of black market have taken over the sales of fuel product.
This development has forced commercial motor operators and okada riders to increase their fares by 100 per cent within the township and outside the state capital.
A trip from Felele to post office in Lokoja which normally cost N30 is now N60 and a short trip by motorcycle which cost N20 before the fuel scarcity now ranges between N40 to N120 depending on the distance.
The increase also affected those travelling outside the state capital to nearby towns like Okene and Kabba as commuters now pay between N400 and N500 respectively as against the usual fare of 200.
When our correspondent visited most of the filling stations in the state capital they were under lock and key as only two stations were selling fuel. This led to motorists to queue for hours before they could buy the scarce product.
Equally, most commuters who could not afford to pay the new transport fares were seen trekking to their various places of work.
A civil servant who preferred anonymity said: "my brother how much is my salary and the taxi drivers want to collect N70 from Obasanjo square to hospital junction, I cannot afford to pay that kind of money, that is the reason I decided to trek".
However, a taxi driver, Ade Moses said it was not the fault of drivers to increase transport fare anytime there is fuel scarcity, explaining that a litre of fuel was now between N160 to N180.
"You cannot even get the fuel at the filling stations in my own case. I slept at the filling station to get this fuel I am using to work at the rate of N90 per litre", he added.
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As at the time of filling in this report, operators of black market were seen displaying the product along the roads for motorists to buy at the rate of N200 per litre.
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