The price of gasoline has risen to N600 per litre from N195 per litre in several regions of the country less than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidies.
Long lines once again appeared at fuel stations in Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, Benin, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Kano, Makurdi, and other important cities and metropolitan regions as a result of the development, which also caused a 100% increase in transportation costs.
Numerous outlets shut down their operations and refused to provide fuel to drivers, which made the situation worse by increasing the scarcity and causing fear and desperation buying at the fuel stations that were left accessible to the public.
In his inaugural speech at Eagle Square on Monday, President Tinubu declared that the subsidy program was officially over. He noted that the 2023 Appropriations Act did not include funding for gasoline subsidies after June, which marked the end of the 18-month extension period that the Muhammadu Buhari administration had approved for the program’s termination.
While this was going on, lines grew longer in some areas of Lagos and Ogun states as transporters raised their rates and some petrol retailers increased their pricing to as much as N600 per litre.
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway’s Mobil Filling Station at First Gate Bus Stop had a large line of cars and people with jerry cans, but no fuel was being supplied there. Half of the freeway was blocked by the line of cars.
According to research, several gas stations in the town were open from early in the morning till 2:00 pm and were charging between N189 and N205 per litre for the product.
Only a few stations, notably Bovas, Shirafa, and Geri Alimi, were dispensing the product at the time this report was filed.
While Bovas charged N200 per litre for fuel, the Tigress fuel station in the Odota neighborhood along the Ilorin/Ogbomoso route charged N205 per litre for PMS.
Many other businesses were closed, including NIPCO, Total, Abanik, OANDO, and the NNPC on Asa Dam Road. On Tuesday, frantic drivers surrounded a number of stations in Asaba, the capital of Delta State.
While other stations offered between N450 and N550 per litre, the majority of the main marketers have increased their pump pricing from N230 and N260.
However, a number of businesses turned away clients because their gates were sealed tightly.
