Motorists in Kano are lamenting what they describe as the “indiscriminate” increase of the price of petrol by marketers.
Within the past week, fuel price has skyrocketed to between N980 and N1,000 per litre at most filling stations in the ancient city.
The motorists also urged the Federal Government to take actions against fuel marketers who have continued to exploit members of the public by selling their products at exorbitant prices.
They accused the marketers in Kano, especially members of the IPMAN, of increasing their prices on a daily basis and creating artificial scarcity to maximise profit.
“I was at AY Maikifi filling station along Maiduguri road dispensing fuel yesterday evening, but this morning, the filling station is closed even though they have the commodity,” a motorist, Abdullahi Lawan, said.
Another motorist, Sanusi Bala stressed the need for the Federal Government to take urgent steps to address the current fuel crisis in the country.
He explained that the increasing cost of the commodity is responsible for the current high of foodstuffs and services noting that fuel is the backbone of the economy.
Most of the filling stations have also remained closed while the few stations selling the commodity in the metropolitan local governments were besieged with long queues of vehicles.
When contacted, the state chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Gana Girgir, said all marketers selling the commodity between N870 and N900 per litre must be selling old stock.
He noted that marketers in the state are currently buying the commodity from Lagos at N850 per litre and above adding “if you add N60 for transportation it will cost around N910 per litre.
“So, tell me how a marketer can sell the commodity at less than N950 per litre. If he does that he’ll operate at a loss,” he said.
“If you check in the city, even the government-owned mega stations are not having the commodity. So, the issue of fuel in this country is beyond anyone’s imagination,” he added.
