Commuters and motorists in Benue state are lamenting and groaning over price of Premuim Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol which is still selling for as high as N380 per litre despite the intervention of the NNPC Limited.
The situation has been made worse by the non availability of the product in virtually all the filling stations owned by major marketers in the state.
Findings indicated that while the few independent marketers who have products sell to desperate motorists for between N270 and N300 per litre, black marketers sell for between N360 and N380 per litre.
The NNPC Mega Station on Otukpo Road which is selling at government approved price cannot be easily accessed as vehicle owners make frantic efforts to gain entrance into the station to buy the product.
Some of the motorists who could not hide their displeasure over the unabating development appealed to the authorities to intervene and address the issue.
A commercial motorcycle operator, David Okube who was among the multitude of riders who were waiting to purchase the product from the mega station lamented that major petrol stations in the state were deliberately making life unbearable for the people by not dispensing products to public.
“Why will it be only the mega station that is selling fuel to the public, why are other major marketers not selling weeks after the government took steps to ensure that there is enough product in the country?
“Even nearby Abuja that was hard hit by scarcity now has products. But when you come to Benue state they are selling to us at between N270 and N300 per litre while the black marketers are selling for about N380 per litre some even sell for N400 especially at night.
“We cannot continue like this because the people are suffering. If you come to mega station to buy you will spend the whole day here and if you are unlucky you might not get to buy before they lock up,” he said.
Also, a medical doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity lamented that it was unacceptable for Nigerians to continue to go through pains in order to buy petrol.
“How can a responsible and responsive government allow its citizens go through this kind of pains in order to buy fuel. I am a medical doctor who is supposed to be in the hospital attending to patients but I abandoned that assignment to search for fuel. Why are all the major marketers in Makurdi not selling fuel. Why are we still buying fuel for about N300 per litre in Benue? It is killing to say the least.”
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