AmanaOnline

Forty-eight hours after the expiration of the ultimatum by the Department of State Services (DSS) to stakeholders in the oil sector, petrol scarcity has persisted in Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and Kano states, and other parts of the country, Daily Trust reports.

The DSS, at a meeting with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) on Thursday, gave the stakeholders a 48-hour ultimatum to end the fuel scarcity to avert incitement or security breach in the country.

The stakeholders had agreed to resolve the crisis.

But Daily Trust observed on Monday that long queues were yet to disappear in major cities, making black marketers have a field day, selling the commodity for as much as N350 per litre.

In Kano State, most filling stations did not dispense petrol yesterday. The few stations that had the product sold it for N310 a litre. Other stations in the state sold a litre for N280 to N290.

A motorist, Salisu Jibrin, said he had no option but to buy at N310 a litre because he could not join the long queues.

In Lokoja, Kogi State, motorists were seen on long queues at fuel stations; while in Kaduna and Jos, major fuel stations were not dispensing.

Yahaya Igono, a motorcyclist in Lokoja, said petrol was selling at between N210 and N285 per litre.

Several filling stations visited by our correspondent in Kogi were not dispensing petrol. A resident said: “A four-litre gallon of petrol is now sold at N1800 by black marketers.”

In Kaduna, stations visited by our correspondent were also not selling the product.

Salisu Mohammed, a commercial driver said: “Anyone who wants to buy fuel will have to buy from black market fuel stations, the major fuel stations hardly dispense fuel and even when they do, their priority is the black marketers.”