By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Notwithstanding official assurances, Nigerians are still groaning over persistent fuel shortages at dispensing points nationwide.

The Federal Government made spirited assurances last weekend in Abuja, promising that the regime of crunching scarcity of fuel would soon ebb.

But contrary to explanations on measures taken so far to remove the image dent on an oil-producing nation that petrol scarcity would be over by last weekend, the problem has persisted in almost all filling stations.

Motorists, commuters, and petrol consumers are groaning heavily because of the combined effects of the inability to stock supply, power vehicles, and plants, as well as pay skyrocketing fuel prices.

“This is not a show. It is for real,” a distraught customer at a fuel station on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, mourned yesterday.

Worsening scarcity of the product continued unabated yesterday in Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Kwara, as well as other states.

Queues, some stretching for over one kilometre, were seen at many petrol stations in Lagos yesterday. Those desperate to secure supply are forced to buy at prices well over the official price.

“Most of the petrol stations are selling for N200 per litre at stations, and between N300 and even as high as N400 at the black market in some places, a commercial bus operator, Mr John Aderibigbe told our correspondent.

It was observed that in most stations where the prices hover between the official N162 and N200, the queues are super extended.

On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, from the Gbagada/Oworonshoki end, abominable queues were noticeable.

At Egbeda, Ikotun, Isolo, Surulere, Lagos Island, and many other places, black marketing reigned. Residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, groaned over the same scenario.

Commuters also complained about heavy traffic. “This is getting out of control,” a mother-of-two complained, stressing, “It now takes you about three hours to make a one-hour journey because of the fuel crisis.”

Commercial vehicle operators say they have to wake up early, even in the wee hours of the morning, in a bid to get fuel for operations.

In Lagos, motorists complained of skyrocketing transport fares. At Iyana Oworo, a commercial bus driver said, “We now pay between N200 and N300, a 100 per cent increase,” he told ThisNigeria in desperation.

Because of the difficulty associated with getting supply, Abuja too has been gutted by the pyre of shortage and its attendant consequences.

Even though the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has directed its members to start compiling names of marketers hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, or selling above official depot price, the situation is far from abating.

In Abuja, fuel queues at petrol stations are still growing because of the continuous disruption of fuel supply for weeks running.

At many filling stations, motorists moaned that they had queued for over four hours before they could obtain petrol at sections of the Federal capital city.

At the suburbs of the nation’s capital, the scenes were chaotic as motorists struggled to get into a few filling stations dispensing petrol.

Motorists said they found it difficult to purchase petrol. Products are being openly hawked, black market style, in kegs, jerry cans, and containers, with prices allegedly ranging from N350 to N400 per litre.

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In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, fuel queues persisted too yesterday. Despite a series of warnings from the state government to fuel marketers to stop hoarding, among other suspected sharp practices, motorists said they discovered that many filling stations might be intentionally hoarding fuel, waiting for a decision from the Federal Government on the removal of fuel subsidy.

A motorist expressed his displeasure over the scarcity, adding that the decision by fuel marketers has plunged many residents into unwholesome situations.

“The situation is getting worse by the day. The government needs to urgently attend to the issue,” he pleaded.

The state government had earlier charged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to punish fuel dealers who hoard products and cause hardship.