Nahum Sule, Jalingo
For almost a week now, residents of Taraba state have witnessed long queue of cars and tricycles (Keke) waiting to get fuel due to scarcity of the commodity in Jalingo, though the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation is insisting that it has enough supply for the end-of-the-year demand.
Marketers allege that the long queue at filling stations is associated with the ‘Ember’ months, which has now resurfaced as vehicle owners are forced to spend hours to get the product at the official pump price of N185 per litre.
It was observed that only the NNPC filling station is open, while other major marketers and several independent marketers barely open their filling stations to dispense the product, a situation that has already sent fears of imminent scarcity in people, considering the present high cost of living in the country.
At the NNPC mega station along Mile Six road in Jalingo, motorists and motorcycle riders were seen in the queue waiting for their turns to get the quantity of the PMS they needed for a few days to come, not knowing how long the scarcity is going to take.
Rimandeyati Solomon, who was in the queue, wondered the reason behind fuel scarcity at the end of every year, saying it could be a deliberate move to make the celebration of the yuletide period for Christians and other people who have something to do during the period uneasy.
Also, Hajiya Aisha Raiyanu said that she had spent close to one hour in the queue before she got the tank of her Toyota Camry car filled, saying that the yearly scarcity of PMS should be checked by concerned authorities in order to reduce the stress Nigerians are going through at present.
When contacted, the Manager of the station said that the station has enough PMS to sell to the customers, adding that he was expecting more supply from the depot.
When asked what the cause of the scarcity is, he said that he doesn’t know the reason behind the scarcity, but just got to the station to notice that a queue was building up in the station.
When our correspondent visited the Taraba state office of Department of Petroleum Resources, the coordinator was said to have gone round to monitor the situation to ensure that it did not get out of control, but an officer who did not want his name in print reassured that there is no cause for alarm as NNPC has enough PMS to go through the year.
Meanwhile, black markets have resurfaced across the metropolis as urchins are seen displaying the products in jerrycans, selling in 4 litre gallons between N1,700 to N2,000 per gallon to desperate people who could not wait on the queue for a long time.