Inhabitants of Zamfara State have bemoaned that the existing fuel scarcity has incapacitated commercial activities as many business people, who depend on fuel for their legitimate activities, can not afford the high cost of petroleum at the black market.
They groaned that the constant fuel scarcity in the country has become so discomfiting and mystifying, saying that both the federal and state government were unable to control the ugly situation of hoarding.
Ibrahim Danbaba, a welder, described the situation as unnatural fuel scarcity, pointing out that some people were developing the scarcity of desirous interests to becoming rich overnight.
He complained that fuel scarcity is seriously affecting households and commercial activities, making life so hard for the ordinary masses.
He went further to explain that the scarcity of fuel does not only affect transportation but everything entirely, emphasizing that most people depend on fuel for their day-to-day living.
“The fuel dealers hoard the petroleum products in their fuel stations only to be selling to black marketers at high prices, the black marketers, in turn, sell at doubled prices to the consumers”, he said.
He has also said that the federal government established fuel regulatory bodies but the corrupt system has continued unabated because the bodies engage in sharp practices to acquire illegal wealth at the expense of the poor masses.
“Then how can Nigeria account for the millions of naira being paid to these public officeholders in the name of political appointments?” He questioned.
Transporters and commercial motorcyclists have also complained that business has been slow because of the fuel scarcity destroying the state, saying that many people could not afford to pay for their services as their prices have risen.
Findings by happenig247 disclosed that some of the fuel stations in Gusau, the state capital, have been locked, claiming that they had fuel to sell.
At the Gada Biu area in Gusau, the state capital, where this medium visited, only one out of over ten filling stations was functioning while the other fuel stations were like a burial ground.
The fuel stations that were operating were selling at the rate between N230-N250 per litre with long rows at the stations.
