(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SbImu9bvHA8/TcE-32uq25I/AAAAAAAABZo/zc2gNHsR01w/s400/KEROSENE+SCARCITY.jpg)
Relief does not appear to be on the way of the vast majority of Nigerians who are regular users of kerosene which is the commonest element of petroleum products. For quite a couple of weeks, there has been a consistent increase in the price of kerosene just as its availability has been extremely scarce.
In many parts of the country, the minimum cost of a bottle of kerosene was put at N140, Sunday Tribune reliably gathered. For residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital, none of the filling stations had the product for sale, just as residents resorted to patronising black market dealers who hiked the price at N200 per bottle.
In major parts of Ibadan, the product was sold at N300 per bottle especially at Molete and Bere. Residents stated that they were forced to purchase a bottle at a minimum of N185 at the few filling stations which had the product in stock.
In Uyo, Sunday Tribune gathered that a few filling stations with kerosene sold at N150 per litre. Retail cost by street hawkers was put at N140 per bottle. It was gathered that customers who sought alternative prices at designated stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) waited endlessly in queues.
For residents in Benin City, capital of Edo State, the situation was not different. At the NNPC filling station along Sapele road, the only such station in the state capital, kerosene, when available, was sold for N500 for 10 litres. At black markets, a litre was sold for N200 while 10 litres was sold for N1,550 or N1,700.
The scarcity equally spread its tentacles to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as residents purchased a gallon for N1,500, while the same quantity was sold at N1,300 in other parts. The same occurrence played out in Abeokuta, Ogun State, as customers paid N1, 300 for a gallon of the product.
Lagos also experienced a painful bite of the scarcity as residents bought a bottle for N200. The ripple effect of the scarcity and hike in price was that there was a similar increase in the price of packets of candles, as a packet was sold for N180 and N200.
In Kaduna State, while those in the metropolis bought a gallon of the product for N1, 000, those who lived and worked close to the Kaduna refinery had the rare opportunity of purchasing it at a reasonable price. Sunday Tribune gathered that most of the residents who could not afford the hike in the price of kerosene resorted to wood for fuel both for household and public uses.
It was also learnt that the situation in Osogbo, Osun State, was pathetic as the product was not available in any of the filling stations. It was gathered that a 20-litre keg was sold for N3, 000 while a bottle was put at N140.
In Jigawa State, residents also resorted to using wood as fuel as a result of the scarcity in the supply and its hike in price. A bottle of the product was sold for N200.
In Bayelsa, the situation appeared not to be different despite the fact that the state is one of the oil-producing points in the Niger Delta region. According to findings, many of the state residents were forced to purchase a bottle of the product for N200.
The price of kerosene equally sky-rocketed as residents of Enugu State, both at the metropolis and in the suburbs, purchased a bottle of the product for N160. In Kebbi State, a gallon of kerosene was sold for N550 and N700 in some quarters. In Kano and Markurdi, a bottle was sold for N250 and N165 respectively.
At the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, it was gathered that while a litre was sold for N145 in some areas, it was sold for N170 in others.
Source: Tribune