Fuel scarcity and attendant long queues have surfaced in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and its environs following the shutdown of distribution of petroleum products by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (NUPENG) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)
This development follows the expiration of the seven days ultimatum issued by the union to Rivers State’s government over the alleged extortion and impounding of fuel tankers by security operatives.
This suspension of the distribution of petroleum products has resulted to an uncontrolled hike in the price of fuel, as consumers lament staying on stressful queues at the few dispensing filling stations for the entire day in most cases and still not being able to buy even at as high as N250 per litre.
Reacting to the development, NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, confirmed, yesterday, that the hardship the fuel scarcity has caused in the state which is spilling over to neighbouring states was induced by their resolve to shut operations as the Rivers State government has failed to respond to the union’s petition to within seven days intervene over alleged extortion and impounding of fuel tankers by security operatives in the state.
The situation is further worsened after IPMAN in the state also joined the disruption of fuel distribution as two factions of the association engaged in a face-off over differences in the resolution of the ordeal tanker drivers suffer in the hands of multiple anti-illegal fuel security teams chasing tankers loaded with fuel across the state.
As at yesterday, most NNPC filling stations and its franchise firms on the East-West Road and some other areas, Total and other stations had no product to dispense even with huge price hikes.
Some stations that have PMS to sell have pegged their prices at N240 and N300 per litre above the N162 pump price.
Mr Gilbert Gift, a resident of Port Harcourt, who Vanguard met at a filling station in Port Harcourt lamented that petrol at the moment has become difficult to get.
Gilbert also accused some stations of hoarding the product to sell at higher prices when the situation worsens.
