Many people who attempted to travel across the country in the spirit of Sallah, have been left stranded – no thanks to the alarming transport fares and scarcity of vehicles.
Findings by BizWatch Nigeria revealed that transport fares during the Sallah yuletide, have increased by no less than 200%, particularly in Lagos, and its neighbouring states.
For instance, on Saturday, July 9, 2022, residents in Alagbole-Akute, Ogun State, were subjected to boarding motorcycles between N500 and N900, from N300.
“With N300, I go to Berger by bike, but today, I couldn’t find one on time, and when I did, it was N800. That was crazy but I had no choice because my destination was important,” a resident of the area who doesn’t want his name mentioned in this report stated.
Like the Alagbole resident, a trader who resides around Iju-Ishaga who identified herself as Joy Uche revealed to our correspondent that it cost her N300 to go to Ogba-Ikeja, Lagos.
“I used to spend N150 to go to Ogba, and yesterday, I spent N300. I can’t tell maybe it’s because of the fuel scarcity or Sallah celebration, but that was too much,” she revealed.
Lamenting the alarming transport fare, one Oyindamola Adedejii, who travelled to Osun State from Lagos, said it cost her N6,000.
“Usually, to go to Osun State from Lagos, could be between N2,500 and N3,000. But I paid N7,000 to travel. That is too costly!” she stated.
Meanwhile, it had been gathered that the worsening queues at filling stations which were said to be contributing to alarming transport fares and vehicle scarcity have been attributed to insufficient supply of petrol by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
According to oil marketers in the country, the insufficient supply of petrol by NNPC and the non-payment of bridging claims for the transportation of the commodity were the key reasons for the scarcity, and not hoarding as alleged.
“The problem is that every side needs to be transparent. We as retail outlet owners are ready to sell petroleum products to the teeming Nigerian public. We have no reason why we should not sell our products.
“The money used in buying the 45,000 litres of petrol from depots, almost N7m, is borrowed, and time-bound. So every retail outlet owner knows that the wise thing to do in this business is to sell out and try to turn around that sale as many times as possible.
“So with this scenario in view, there is no retail outlet owner that is hoarding product or diverting it. Yes, we know there may be bad eggs among the good bunch, but the fact that we are not having sufficient products is what has remained the cause of fuel scarcity,” Billy Gillis-Harry, the President of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), explained.
