After some days of respite, fuel scarcity worsened in different parts of the country on Saturday with Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol, selling as high as N160 per litre in some places.
Reports by our correspondents from different states indicated that many petrol stations were still not selling fuel, while those opened sold well above the pump price of N87 per litre.
In Oyo State on Saturday, none of the major filling stations sold the product. The independent marketers sold between N100 and N150 per litre. From Apata on the Abeokuta road to Ojo in Ibadan, the state capital, less than five filling stations operated on Saturday. Black market operators made brisk business as they sold PMS at N160 per litre. They were patronised as some motorists preferred them to the long queues at filling stations that had the product.
In Lagos, our correspondent observed that queues had reappeared at some petrol stations, while some that had dispensed fuel earlier in the week were shut on Saturday.
Some stations were also observed to be selling at N100 per litre. Many people were also sighted with jerry cans on various roads looking for petrol to buy.
In Rivers State, residents were forced to buy petrol at between N100 and N120 per litre in most of the filling stations that had the product. Also, while some filling stations had remained shut for about five days, queues had begun to build up in places like Tomison filling station on Ada George Road and Conoil on Aba Road.
It was also learnt that the slight scarcity experienced within Port Harcourt metropolis was as a result of a dealers hoarding the product in anticipation of an acute scarcity of so as to make more profit to the detriment of buyers.
In the Benue State capital, Makurdi and other major towns in the state there were long queues anywhere, fuel was being sold at N87 per litre.
At other filling stations the pump price of petrol was between N100 and N110 per litre.
In Kaduna State, there were long queues of vehicles at various filling stations.
While some stations were selling at N120 others sold at the regulated price of N87. Meanwhile, motorists groaned in pain as they waited for several hours without fuel.
At the NNPC mega filling station on Sapele road, Benin City, Edo State a litre of petrol was sold at the rate of N87, with fairly long queues.
The situation was different in Enugu State where the product was sold between N100 and N150.
Our correspondent observed that there were no queues in the Coal City. However, many petrol filling stations were not selling.
In Ogun State it went for between N90 and N100 per litre. From Sango Ota, Sagamu, Ilaro to Ijebu Ode, Ewekoro and Abeokuta, similar prices were obtainable in most filling stations.
However, major oil marketers like NNPC mega station on Abiola Way, Abeokuta, Mobil, and Total among others in Abeokuta, still sold at the official price of N87 per litre.
Also on Saturday, some filling stations owned by independent oil marketers were shut.
In Kwara State especially the Ilorin metropolis there was scarcity of petrol.
There were long queues at the few petrol stations that were dispensing and they sold for N100 or more.