By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Few fuel stations offering the product to members of the public have ignored Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sanctions by jacking up their pump prices from N145 per litre to between N210 and N220 per litre. But their supply is not always reliable.
As a result of the development, tens of unemployed youths have taken to the risky business of selling fuel on major streets in Kano metropolis, selling four litres for between N1, 100 and N1, 200.
AA Rano filling and the NNPC Mega filling stations sell at the approved government price of N145 per litre, but motorists have to endure long queues to fill their tanks.
Aminu Bashir, a resident of Kano, who could not brave the queues, said he had parked his car at home, as he could no longer afford to buy fuel at the black market price.
“I need at least two gallons on daily basis, so if I have to buy two gallons daily, that means I need N2, 200 because I cannot withstand the stress of following the queue at the filling stations that are selling,” he said.
Another resident, Inuwa Babangida, expressed concern over the lingering fuel crisis in the country and called on the Federal Government to take stringent measures to end petrol scarcity in the country.
Babangida, who described the scarcity as artificial, called on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanction any marketer caught either diverting or selling the product above the government approved price of N145 per litre.
