Residents groan, decry fuel scarcity as black market thrives

PHOTO: fueltek.co.uk

In spite of several government promises that it was working to end the fuel scarcity in the country, the situation has not changed and is worsening in Jos, the Plateau state capital.

This is happening just as the black marketers smile to the bank everyday as they always have regular supply of the commodity and even security operatives buy from them.

But the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has for the umpteenth time appealed to Nigerians for calm, reassuring that the government was working to ensure that fuel becomes available in Plateau state and nation-wide.

Addressing journalists in Jos, the Plateau State Operations Manager of DPR, Mr. Jeremiah Mashat said, “There has been a dip in supply in the last three weeks; a total of 214 trucks have been supplied and if you divide 214 trucks by 21 days, you will get an average of 10 trucks per day for a state that has 17 local government areas. Some local governments may not get at all; that is how critical the situation is.

Under normal conditions, Plateau gets about 30 trucks daily, but it has now gone down to as low as 10 trucks.

Mashat dismissed the insinuations that the scarcity has anything to do with yuletide period, saying “it is not aimed at making life difficult at Christmas; it’s a mere coincidence.”