Scarcity: Lagos residents stranded as petrol hits N1,000/litre

Some residents of Badagry in Lagos State were stranded on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, as most commercial vehicles plying the area were off the road due to the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), fondly called petrol.

Many workers and businessmen were seen waiting endlessly at some bus stops due to the unavailability of vehicles.

The situation led to a hike in transport fares as a litre of petrol in the area now sells as high as N1,000, while fares rose from N800 to N1,500 from Badagry to Mile 2 in Lagos.

At some popular bus stations in Badagry – Aradagun, Mowo, and Agemowo – scores of residents were seen struggling to enter a few available taxis and commercial buses.

A resident, Johnson Afilaka, said he could not go to work on Monday due to the increase in transport fares from Badagry to Mile 2.

Afilaka said: “Today, we have queued up for buses, but none has come. A few taxis that came raised their fares so high.

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“Government should come to our aid in Badagry by providing some of the Lagos BRT buses for us here.”

A staff of the National Population Commission (NPC), Christiana Adigun, said she could not drive to her office due to difficulty in getting petrol for her car.

Adigun said although she was willing to buy a litre at N1,000, it was difficult to get the product, adding that getting a commercial vehicle to her office also posed another challenge.

On petrol sales in Badagry, only the NNPC filling station at Aradagun and Mobil filling station were selling at official prices of N568 and N610, respectively.

However, other independent marketers with fuel stations were selling between N950 and N1,000 per litre.

Explaining the reason for petrol scarcity, the Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers in Badagry, Abdul-Ganiyu Adelani, blamed the scarcity on the lack of product at the NNPCL tank farm.

Adelani urged the NNPCL to make available more petrol in their tank farms so that all filling stations in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria would get enough supply.

The Star