Fuel scarcity: ‘Independent marketers forced to cut down price in Ekiti’

Independent petroleum marketers in Ekiti have reduced fuel price to below N200 per litre, a development coming the second day after Governor Ayodele Fayose effected the sale of petrol in the government’s house pump to the public.

Fayose had on Monday directed the sale of the fuel at the pump price of N145 per litre to the public to cushion the effect of the hardship of the fuel scarcity during Christmas.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Fayose, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in a release, said a tour around the state capital on Wednesday showed that the sale of the government fuel was still ongoing at Alade Filling Station, Iyin Ekiti road.

It also said Phenrose Oil and Gas, Irona was selling the fuel at N180 per litre to motorists.

NIPCO filling station at Adebayo Road and Akinbami filling station in Ureje also sell at N190 per litre.

This was against the price of N400  and N500 per litre it was sold at the black market on Monday, and also the N250 and N200 some filling stations were selling before Monday.

Many of the independent marketers had been selling fuel at outrageous prices before the intervention of Fayose.

Many independent marketers who had been hoarding the commodity in anticipation of a hike in price are now forced to sell the products.

An manager in one of the Independent marketers’ outfit, who spoke to Correspondents and pleaded anonymity, said the root cause of the fuel scarcity is that independent marketers had been getting pump price at N150 from source, and had a dilemma of selling it at official price of N145 or N143 as some of them were known for.

“Truth of the matter and root cause of this fuel palaver is that the Independent marketers have been getting fuel litre at N150 from source, these marketers have a dilemma of selling above official pump price of N145 and gain but incur the wrath of the members of the public or sell at either N145 or below, and lose in the transaction.

“But some of them are wise, instead of selling all the content they receive, they rather divert the bigger amount of it to smaller filling stations who took turns to sell to members of or the public at exorbitant costs of N200 or N250 and above. This is why the major marketers do not have much fuel to sell to members of the public who queue at their stations for days with it getting fuel. I do not think you would blame them for doing this because no one wants to do business and fail, he said. “

In another development, the reduced prices and stoppage of fuel hoarding are only more pronounced in the state capital. In some other towns that are outskirts of Ekiti, residents still complain of either not getting fuel and having to rely on black market sales of N550, and above or getting fuel from very few filling stations at N280 or N250.