Amid heavy gridlock, motorists and commuters in Lagos lamented over the sudden scarcity of fuel, popularly called petrol.

This has resulted in transport fares increase by commercial bus drivers — danfos and koropes — within the city.

Consequently, fuel queues have resurfaced with most filling stations shut, as motorists struggle with the skyrocketing fuel prices. It has gone as high as N850 in some filling stations.

This is coming barely six days to the commencement of the planned nationwide protest over economic challenges.

By last Friday, yesterday, fuel queues had started to get longer within the metropolis, with few fuel stations dispensing.

N950 per litre

On Saturday, besides Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPCL Limited Ltd.-branded fuel stations selling at N650 per litre, other independent marketers are selling between N850 to N950.

It was discovered that many filling stations which seemed to have run out of stocks, were seen under lock and key.

Others shut their gates against motorists and other users of petroleum products who were hoping to get some.

With those stations selling the product to buyers, there were long queues as panic buying continued. This resulted in gridlock along the roads where filling stations were dispensing.

Men of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authorities, LASTMA, deployed seemed overwhelmed as they could not effectively contain the high influx of motorists searching for the product.

… enter black marketers

As a result, black marketers have taken advantage of the situation. They were selling the product to desperate motorists at exorbitant rates of up to ₦1,000 to ₦1,400 per litre.

Black market dealers were seen hawking the product at Egbeda, Ikotun, LASU-Iba Road, Ikeja, Agege, among others.

A danfo driver, simply identified Mr.Jude Akpan, who spoke to Vanguard, lamented that he spends twice the usual amount on fuel to fill his vehicle for one trip.

“So he has passed the cost on to passengers.

“I bought N850 per litre from a filling station this morning after several hours in the long queue.

“I bought 20 litres for N17,000, which can hardly take me two trips from Ikotun to Oshodi.”

Investigation showed that Ikotun to Egbeda, which used to be N200, is now N500, while Iyana-Ipaja is N700, depending on the bargaining power of passengers.

Also, vehicle owners and other fuel users lamented the scarcity. They said it could worsen in the coming weeks if authorities did not address the cause of the shortage.

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