Acute fuel scarcity has hit Minna the Niger state capital and it’s environs thereby causing an untold hardship to Nigerlites.
Radio Nigeria reports that most of the filling stations in Minna have remained closed while petrol vendors at the black market have been taken advantage of the situation to sale the product at an exorbitant prices.
A liter of fuel on the black market, which was previously sold at nine hundred naira, is now being sold for one thousand five hundred naira and above.
Additionally, some few filling stations that have opened for business transactions are selling the product for one thousand two hundred naira, which is above the official government-approved pump price per liter.
In a telephone interview, the Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, DSC Abubakar Muti, said they were on top of the situation.
He explained that the monitoring team of NSCDC had gone as far as Suleja to ensure that filling stations selling petrol comply with the government’s directive to sell the fuel without causing unnecessary tension and hardship to Nigerians.
DSC Abubakar Muti who cautioned Nigerlites against panic buying, that there was enough petrol to go around, also mentioned that they are not resting on their oars to ensure that the situation is brought under control and normalcy restored.
He said the NSCDC Commandant of Niger State Command, Mr. Joachim Okafar, also led a monitoring team to the NNPC Depot at Pago, located some kilometers away from the state capital, to inspect how petroleum products were being lifted to other places, aiming to bring security and relief to Nigerlites and indeed Nigerians.
DSC Abubakar Muti however maintained that the NSCDC would never shy away from it’s mandate of protecting Critical Government Assets and other responsibilities assign to the Corp for the good of all.
Meanwhile, Nigerlites have continued to endure the high prices of transport fares, which have witnessed a hundred percent increase.
They are calling on relevant authorities to come to their aid and reduce the hardship they have been experiencing.
MON/INT/ALIYU LAWAL.
