Motorists on Friday, January 5, besieged filling stations within Osogbo metropolis which were dispensing petrol at the approved N145 pump price.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the large turnout of motorists at the filling stations was caused by the availability of the product.
It was gathered that most of the fuel stations with the product had their gates shut to control the chaotic situation occasioned by long queues.
A commercial driver, Lamidi Ajadi, told NAN that he rushed to the particular filling station after being informed of the availability of petrol.
“The last fuel I bought was from the NNPC mega station at Ring road, but they have run out of fuel and that is why I came to buy here. I have been on the queue for more than one hour,’’ he said.
Another motorist, Wale Smith, said he had to leave the office to fill the tank of his car.
“Though the queue is long, there is an assurance of getting petrol,’’ he said.
An Independent marketer, Alhaji Abiola Ahmed, told NAN he received his consignment on Thursday, January 4 and had been dispensing since then.
Ahmed, however, said he had to shut his gate to regulate the traffic flow into the station and within the area, adding that many motorists were impatient and unruly.
He also confirmed that the product was being sold at the regulated N145 per litre.
It was reported that the long queues disrupted vehicular movement on the Gbongan-Ibadan road, workers’ drive, Okefia and Lameko-Ring road, all in Osogbo.
It was recalled that the price of the product had risen to as high as N250 per litre in Osogbo and its environs before the latest development. (NAN)
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that minister of state for petroleum, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has denied news reports that the federal government was planning to jack up the pump price of petrol, at present fixed at N145 per litre.
