As fuel scarcity worsens in Ondo state, residents have urged the federal government to find a long-term solution to the situation.
Long queues were seen as early as 6 a.m. at several petrol stations in Akure, including Onyearugbulem, Roadblock, Oyemekun road, Ondo road, Oba Ile, Alagabaka, and Oda road.
All of the stations sold petrol at prices ranging from N165 to N200 per litre.
Unlike last week, when some filling stations had fuel but dispensed it at prices higher than the official pump price, only a few stations currently have
Motorists who talked with Radio Nigeria bemoaned the hardships brought on by the scarcity.
It is a problem for commercial drivers Oluwadara Arogundade and Rotimi Fadare, who said they park their vehicles at the filling station every morning to buy petrol, wasting time, expending energy and thus losing ‘market’.
There is a rise in food prices and a decrease in small-scale businesses due to a lack of fuel, Businesswoman Mrs Toyin Adu said.
Two residents, Mrs Abel Arowolo and Bayo Fagbamila blamed the issue on the state of the nation’s refineries, urging the federal government to make them operational so that fuel scarcity would be a thing of the past.
They also encouraged petrol dealers to stop stockpiling the product.
Attempts to get comments from a few petrol dealers were unsuccessful, as they all declined to speak.
Reporting by Oluwatosin Ighoteguono; Editing by Saadatu Albashir