Indeed it was another hard time in Port Harcourt the capital City of Rivers State as residents react against high cost of transportation following fuel scarcity occasioned by NUPENG strike as a result of police assault on one of its members recently.
Manager, Forte Oil located at No. 2/3 Aggrey Road, Mr. Austin Idoma while speaking to The Newswriter stated that there was no embargo at the moment, but they sell when product is available.
“We are out of stock, there is no way we can sell when there is no fuel. It is affecting me because my business is not moving, major oil marketers approve prices, he said.
Meanwhile, Idoma has said that there was no official increment to the pump price as it remains 87 naira, tanker drivers and police were the cause of fuel scarcity, it was gathered recently that the issue has been addressed by police and NUPENG but uptil now there is no positive change as at the time of filing this report.
Some stakeholders who spoke to The Newswriter expresses their views. One Esther Nathaniel, a pump attendant of Forte Oil told our correspondent that information gathered revealed there will be no fuel because of the strike which she described as indefinite.
A staff of Adoks Oil in Nembe/Bonny/Bille waterfront of Port Harcourt told The Newswriter that though they have little fuel, they were still selling.
Speaking to The Newswriter, Beach Master of Bonny Marine Transport Association, Mr. Jumbo Henry said that as at 19th Oct fuel was not flowing in desirable capacity. He said Adoks oil sold fuel for N130 and was later increased to N150.
“In a bid not to allow our passengers get stranded, we decided to task ourselves and our people agreed to buy fuel at N130 and N150”, Henry stated.
He however, said that the fuel scarcity currently did not affect cost of speed boats transportation said passengers still pay N1, 700 for private and N1, 500 for government vessels.
Omana Huttons, Beach master of Bille Jetty disclosed to The Newswriter that Adoks oil who sold 20 liters of fuel for N2500 now sells at the rate of N5000 while one butter is sold for N10,000.
He said the cost of speedboat transportation remain constant but if the scarcity continue, they will have no option than to pack while calling on the government to assist in price reduction.
In a related development, Dokubo Mandela, chairman Aggrey-Garrison taxi unit explained that if the fuel scarcity continues, it may lead to fight between passengers and drivers since most passengers cannot afford high cost of transportation and solicits for government intervention. ###
Blessing Okoro
