Fuel Scarcity: Black market booms in Kano

Black market sellers in Maiduguri 

Black market petrol is booming in Kano as the scarcity of the product persists.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that many filling stations in the commercial city have shut down with the exception of the NNPC Mega station at Hotoro area and the few stations owned by a popular marketer, AA Rano.

A few other stations still offering the product to the public are ignoring NNPC sanctions by jacking prices from N145 per litre to between N210 and N220 per litre. But their supply is not always reliable.

As a result of the development, tens of unemployed youths have taken to the risky business of selling fuel on major streets in the metropolis.

They sell four litres for between N1,100 and N1, 200.

AA Rano filling stations and the NNPC Mega filling station sell at the approved government price of N145 per litre, but motorists have to endure long queues to fill their tanks.

Mohammed Bashir, a resident of Kano, who could not brave the queues, said he had parked his car at home, as he could no longer afford to buy fuel at the black market price.

“I need at least two gallons on daily basis, so if I have to buy two gallons daily, that means I need N2,200 because I cannot withstand the stress of following the queue at the filling stations that are selling,” he said.

Another resident, Aminu Inuwa, expressed concern over the lingering fuel crisis in the country and called on the Federal Government to take stringent measures to end petrol scarcity in the country.

Mr. Inuwa, who described the scarcity as artificial, called on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanction any marketer caught either diverting or selling the product above the government approved price of N145 per litre.