Fuel scarcity: Kano residents want erring marketers punished

Some Kano residents have urged the Kano State Government to take stringent measures against fuel marketers found diverting or hoarding the commodity.

Some marketers especially those operating within the state capital have defied the government’s directive not to sell the commodity above the approved price of N145 per litre.

Some of the residents on Tuesday said that there was the need for the government to punish those found wanting.

One of the residents, Malam Aminu Isma’ila noted that most of the filling stations in Kano metropolis had closed while those outside the state capital and other local governments had increased their pump price.

“Most of the filling stations outside Kano are selling the product between N155 and N165 per litre as against the official N145 per litre,” he said.

Another resident, Alhaji Aliyu Lawan accused the marketers of creating artificial scarcity and causing untold hardship on motorists, adding that most of the marketers now sell to black marketers to maximise profit.

“These Marketers are trying at all cost to create artificial scarcity hence the reason why we want the state government to intervene,” he said.

The exception of AA Rano filling stations and few others, all other filling stations in Kano metropolis have remained closed.

Since the Marketers adopted the new trick, black Marketers have continued to make brisk business by exploiting the situation.

A four-liter gallon of fuel at the black market which used to cost between N750 and N800, now cost between N850 and N900.

Recently IPMAN had issued a warning to all its members to desist from hoarding and diversion of the commodity as anyone caught would be sanctioned.

Similarly, the Marketers by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had also issued a similar warning, but the situation had persisted.

Efforts to seek the reaction of the Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Bashir Dan-Malam failed as he did not take any of the several phone calls to him.