Fuel scarcity hits Katsina

There is currently fuel scarcity in Katsina state with long queues found in many filling stations in the metropolis, according to NAN.

Apart from NNPC mega station and Forte Oil, which were dispensing the product at N87 per litre, the few ones that had the commodity sold at N100 per litre and above and most of them stations dispensed the product to black marketers in jerry cans, who in turn sell to desperate motorists at exhorbitant prices.

A motorist, Umar Ismail, urged the federal government to address the issue of scarcity, saying it had affected the socio-economic activities of the people.

He also urged fuel marketers to desist from causing hardship because of their personal gain.

Yunusa Iron-Baba, a representative of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the scarcity was due to inadequate allocation to marketers in the state.

He said members of the association got the product at N97 per litre from Kano, and had to sell above N100 to realise profit.

Iron -Baba said some marketers decided to close their stations until the situation improves.

Muhammad Sani, state controller, Department of Petroleum Resources, said the marketers’ claims were wrong because the product was still being sold at the normal rate.

He said there was no plan to increase the price.

Sani warned that any marketer caught dispensing the product above the official rate would pay a fine of N100,000.