Fuel Scarcity Looms In Abia

Abia State and its environs may soon experience another fuel scarcity as queues have resurfaced in some filling stations while others do not have products to sell.

Some of the petrol stations owned by major marketers in state have not had fuel to sell, a situation which has been attributed to the high price of the products at the depot.

On a visit to Umuahia, the state capital, Channels TV correspondent noticed that many petrol stations were indeed closed.

With the situation already bringing hardship on the people, one of the major importers of petrol in the state decided to sell the products at the government approved pump prices and this led to a heavy rush by people scampering to buy kerosene at 50 naira per litre as against 150 naira.

Although the consumers were impressed by this gesture, they complained that the filling station was selling only five litres of the product to each person even though some of them wanted to buy more.

The manager of the station, however, said that they were rationing the product they had so as to ensure that everyone gets the product no matter the quantity.

While citizens struggle for the little quantity of petroleum products available in the state, one of the executives of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Umuahia branch, Joseph Ogbulafor, has said that the problem of prices and availability of the products would only be a thing of the past if government deregulates the pump price.

He disclosed that the government must play a role that would force the independent marketers to sell the product at the approved pump price.

He warned that if nothing is done fast, Nigerians might continue to suffer and endure the fuel scarcity and price hike.