*One litre cost N350 in black-market
Samuel Oyadongha
13 February 2012, Sweetcrude, Yenagoa –A fresh fuel scarcity has hit Yenagoa the Bayelsa State with virtually all the filling stations under lock and key.
A litre of the product now sells at N350 in the black market in the state capital.
Most car owners yesterday parked their vehicles with fuel injectors at home for fear of having such vehicles damaged by black market fuel which source they could not ascertained.
The development has led to 100 per cent hike in transport fare in the capital city while residents who could not afford the hike resorted to trekking to their destination.
A trip from Yenagoa to Port Harcourt has gone up from N800 to N1500 while intra city drop now goes between N150 and N250.
Also, the scarcity of the product is having its toll on maritime transportation which consumes more fuel. Some residents travelling to the hinterland yesterday to return home due to the increase in transport fare from N2,500 to N3,500
Our correspondent who went round town observed that virtually all the filing stations including the NNPC mega stations have ran out of supply.
Even the Okaka-Kpansia stretch of the Isaac Boro expressway, a known depot for black market operators was a shadow of itself as the hundreds of jerry cans that usually dot the road were missing due to the biting fuel scarcity.
Though the cause of the fuel scarcity could not be immediately ascertained but a filling station operator told Vanguard that for sometime fuel tankers had not brought in consignment from Port Harcourt due to allege protest by tanker drivers.
It was gathered that some motorists who rushed to the NNPC mega stations and other filling stations to queue up in the early hours of yesterday left disappointed as they were told by the attendants that they had since ran out of supply.
Contacted the head of DPR in the state, Engr Duncan Eradiri said from information at his disposal no tanker had been able to load fuel at the Port Harcourt depot due to allege strike by the tanker drivers.
