04 November 2015, Enugu – Motorists in Enugu State are gnashing their teeth following the sudden hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirt,PMS,otherwise known as petrol which now sells at N110 a litre against the Federal Government’s approved pump price of N87 per litre.
This development has occasioned long queues at major filling stations where PMS is sold at N87.
Although the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, has repeatedly assured Nigerians of adequate supply nationwide, checks revealed that the increase started two days ago.
When Vanguard roved around Enugu metropolis, major filling stations that had PMS witnessed long queues while most independent marketers were out of supply. Further checks revealed that some independent marketers shut their gates to motorists during work hours while they open to black marketers in the evening who dispense at suffocating prices to stranded motorists.
At one of the major filling stations located on Rangers Avenue,a motorist,Mrs. Uche Levi lamented that N1,000 which used to purchase more than ten litres of PMS for her vehicle could barely afford eight litres following the prevailing situation.
“The situation has been like this for long now. Look at the queue. I have spent one hour here because they sell at approved pump price. If you go to other independent marketers, it sells for N110 or more. The quality of the PMS is also a source of worry. We try to buy from major marketers because there is quality control here.”
- Vanguard
