Anambra motorists groan as fuel hits N940 per litre
Motorists and commuters in Anambra State have lamented the daily increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol.
The price of petrol has been fluctuating at various petrol stations across the state. On Friday, the price suddenly rose to N940 at various petrol stations and N1,300 at black market.
Most petrol stations visited in the major cities of Onitsha, Ekwulobia, Nnewi and Awka, sold the product between N880 to N940 per litre while only NNPCL were seen selling below N880, although with long queues of vehicles.
As a result of the development, transportation fares have remained unstable as they continued to increase transportation fares, leaving commuters to pay far more.
This, it was gathered has impacted negatively on the prices of communities especially foodstuffs as food vendors have also continued to hike their prices on the excuse of “high cost of transportation”.
Checks by our correspondent showed that in most cases, commuters were always stranded at the bus stops and motor parks as commercial drivers have resorted to only operating during peak hours to recoup the high amount of money they spent on fuel faster.
Speaking to our correspondent in separate interviews, some commercial drivers said that the current price of petrol has forced them to jerk up prices and operate only during peak hours of the day.
A commercial bus driver, Mr Chinedu Obinwa, who plies the ever busy Upper Iweka-Nnewi routes, said “The situation is currently making life difficult for us, as we spend most of our earnings in repairing of vehicles and purchasing fuel.
“As a result of this, most of us have resorted to operating only during peak hours so as to quickly recoup the money we spend on fuel. Drivers are now working for filling station owners and spare parts dealers, from the little we make a day.
“The bulk of this money goes into fixing our vehicles and buying petrol. Passengers no longer used to be on the road as people are now restricting their movements due to the high cost of transportation. There is no more money in the transportation business. I hope the government finds a solution to tame this regular increment of petrol.”
A mini-bus driver, Ike Ebuka, also appealed to the Federal Government to immediately fix its refineries, adding that if the refineries were working, the product would be more affordable to the common man.
“If we stop importing fuel and fix our refinery, buying fuel will be more affordable, better than what we are currently buying.
“We are now struggling with paying off our bills and upkeep, passengers are no longer on the road as it’s used to be, the few ones will price life out of you.
“I don’t blame these set of passengers, the current economic hardship is telling on everyone, the government should please, do something to help the masses.”
A commuter, Nkechi Eche, said, “The fuel situation is gradually getting out of hand and regrettably, those concerned are just watching. This is a shame for a country. Our so-called leaders are shameless, the other day, a senator revealed the bogus amount he received as a monthly salary in the face of massive hardship and suffering in the country and he has no shame in saying such.
“Look at the suffering the common man is passing through in the country while our leaders take their children and wives abroad. Only God will judge them in this suffering they have kept the country.”
Also, a manager at a petrol station in Onitsha(name withheld) said, “We received a call from a sister petrol station yesterday(Thursday), informing us to suspend operations temporarily and be ready to adjust our meter to reflect the new price that the pump price has been quietly increased by the NNPCL.
“We did not sell fuel on Thursday because of the directive but by today(Friday), we were selling at N920 as we were instructed to do. Our action depends on the signals we get, it is not by our making.”
