Fuel scarcity inflicts hardship on Kano motorists

As the price of a litre of petrol sells between N160 and N170, most motorists in Kano city and environs are facing untold hardship which has forced many to abandon their vehicles at various filling stations. Our reporter observed that while many major filling stations shut their gates to motorists after they ran out of […]

As the price of a litre of petrol sells between N160 and N170, most motorists in Kano city and environs are facing untold hardship which has forced many to abandon their vehicles at various filling stations.
Our reporter observed that while many major filling stations shut their gates to motorists after they ran out of fuel stock, the few independent stations that are selling at the official pump price are witnessing lengthy queues.
It was learnt that as the shortage bites harder, some of the independent marketers across the city are selling at almost double the official pump price. There are usually little or no queues at such filling stations.
At a certain filling station at Karfi town in the outskirts of Kano, which was selling petrol at N150 per litre, our reporter heard irritated motorists cursing and insulting the attendants while accusing them of wickedness.
“God will punish all of you (filling stations oper ators) for extorting innocent people who just want to buy fuel to cater for their daily needs when you know that money is hard to earn these days,” one of the motorists shouted furiously.
As a result of this trend, commercial vehicle operators have also hiked the rates of transport fares for commuters.
Speaking to Kano Chronicle, an angry resident complained that he used to pay N70 for a taxi ride from Zoo Road, to Hotoro area but suddenly he is now being asked to pay N100 for the same distance.
“This is very unfair, I don’t know why this problem of fuel scarcity continues to remain with us. Commercial transporters should stop taking advantage of this to exploit us because it is not our fault. They should instead focus their attention on the government,” he said.