Fuel scarcity: Kaduna residents cry out

Although the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency, Mr Farouk Ahmed, has assured Nigerians that urgent step is been taken to ensure a quality supply of fuel, the situation has all filling stations were shut down in Kaduna.

The residents of Kaduna have groaned about the exorbitant hike in transport fares due to the scarcity of fuel across the state.

According to Mobil Oil station manager, Kaduna, Mr Geoffrey Abuba, they have no idea of getting fuel in the next two weeks.

“Since we discovered that there are bad products in circulation, we are always careful, and waiting for the directive from the government,” he said.

Currently, there is a long queues of motorcyclists, cars and other vehicles at Oando filling station located at Kachia road, waiting for fuel, however the station manager says they have no idea of where to get fuel.

Many passengers were stranded at various Kaduna bus stops as there were few commercial vehicles plying the road, just as they charged extra transport fares.

One madam Josephine, a trader, said where she paid between N100 and N200 for transportation, but now pays between N200 and N400.

According to her, the cost of transportation has affected her business as she can no longer go to the bush market to transact business.

Also, a bus driver who identified himself as Mr Moses said “things are not easy with us. A litre of the black market sells between N400 and N450. We don’t have an option as we too increase the transport fare to meet the cost of fuel.”

He further stated that, the cost of transportation will reduce as soon as they have enough fuel in the filling station as well as a reduction in the price.

Mr. Ahmed is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology.

He returned to Nigeria for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and later joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) where he grew through the ranks and spent thirty-two meritorious years.