4th May, 2011
Some residents in Bauchi have appealed to the state government to intervene in the current fuel scarcity that has crippled business activities in the state.
Some of the residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bauchi, said that the scarcity of petroleum products became noticeable few days after the curfew was imposed on the state.
Alhaji Ali Ibrahim, a resident of Wuntin Dada, told NAN that he could not get fuel for his car in the last four days.
According to Ibrahim, virtually all the filling stations on Jos Road, which has the highest concentration of filling stations in Bauchi, have no fuel.
He said that as a result of the abnormal situation, residents now buy fuel from black markets at exorbitant prices.
“Before the curfew, we were buying petrol at the filling stations at controlled price of N65 per litre, but now we are forced to buy at N100 per litre from the black market.
“We are calling on the station owners to open their stations if they closed them because of the curfew but if it is because of lack of the product, they should start supplying it now that elections in the state are over.
“The government should also lift the curfew since things are returning to normal and like I said, the elections are over and the state has tight security,†he said.
A driver, who gave his name as Anthony, said that petrol stations that opened were selling the product at N75 to N80 per litre.
“The government should also consider lifting the curfew so that people can go about their businesses unmolested or intimidated by the security agents,†he said.
Efforts by NAN to speak with the PPMC officer in Gombe State to find out the reasons for the shortage of petrol in the state proved abortive as the officer did not respond to telephone calls.