‘Eko for show’ as NURTW thugs call the shots at filling stations, motor parks

In Lagos, there has been drama at filling stations and motor parks over the last week as scarcity of petrol continues to bite hard. At the stations and parks, thugs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have been having quite a field day, making some meal flexing muscle to dictate who buys […]

In Lagos, there has been drama at filling stations and motor parks over the last week as scarcity of petrol continues to bite hard.

At the stations and parks, thugs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have been having quite a field day, making some meal flexing muscle to dictate who buys petrol at what price. In Lagos, might has been right.

Petrol has been scarce since oil workers embarked on a short strike across the country three weeks ago. And although they didn’t wait long in calling off the strike, accessing petrol by consumers has been agonizing. The price of the product has been steadily rising illegally as many filling stations have been exploiting the situation to sell far above the official pump price of N145 per litre.

In the Lagos metropolis, many filling stations still maintain the official price, that is where the product is available at all to buy.

But at such stations, it is the NURTW kings that control the crowd. To them it is time to garner huge sums of money. The thugs simply open gates to highest bidder motorists, who though will pay the official pump price, would have been compelled to cough out a substantial amount to go in.

At filling stations like NIPCO and Total on Ikorodu road, our correspondent observed very long queues of vehicles waiting at the entrance to buy petrol. But he also observed the thugs opening the exit gate for vehicles to come in to buy petrol easily.

Eko Trust as well observed money changing hands between the thugs and motorists as their cars went in. Our correspondent learnt that the motorists being given such special concessions had been made to pay as high as N2,000 each before they could go in.

Eko Trust also understood that even before the scarcity, most of the filling station owners were paying huge sums of money to NURTW enforcers to secure their outlets from the many armed robbers and cultists that populate the Lagos metropolis.

By the roadside, assistants to the NURTW lords have also been raking in their own fuel manna. It was gathered that the thug leaders controlling the filling stations sell kegs and kegs of petrol to their assistants deep in the night.

Whereas during the day, the filling stations claim no petrol for sale, the product is always available for sale to the NURTW boys and other cultists at night. During the day, the boys then sell the product at highly inflated prices to motorists nd other consumers desperate to have it. On Christmas day, a 10-litre keg that should normally sell for  N1,450 was sold at the black market for N6000.

Also at the motor parks, it was the NURTW enforcers dictating fares to commercial bus drivers as there was scarcity of commercial buses as many drivers were unable to buy fuel. Passengers traveling from Lagos to other states were made to pay through their noses for the few buses that were available.

Hundreds of travellers were seen stranded at the Jibowu and Maza Maza parks as they arrived there only to discover fares had skyrocketed. 

For example, fares to the South-east and South-south which normally went for about N6000 had been jacked up to between N15,000 and N20,000 by last weekend. Some passengers had to go back home as they couldn’t afford the high fares.

John Anyawun, a trader at the Alaba International Market travelling to Enugu, said he had to pay and travel because his younger sister’s traditional marriage would be held on Christmas eve. 

“I don’t have a choice but to pay. I hope that the transport fare will be lower when I am coming back from the village,” he added.