Stranded Badagry residents groan over petrol scarcity, price hike 

Several Badagry residents were stranded on Tuesday as most commercial vehicles were off the road due to petrol scarcity.

Many workers and businesspeople were sighted waiting endlessly at some bus stops due to unavailability of vehicles.The situation led to a hike in transport fares as a litre of petrol in the area now sells as high as N1,000, while fares rose from N800 to N1,500 from Badagry to Mile 2.

Scores of residents struggled to enter a few taxis and commercial buses at popular bus stations in Badagry, Aradagun, Mowo, and Agemowo. Johnson Afilaka, a Badagry resident, said he could not go to work on Monday due to increased transport fares from Badagry to Mile 2.“Today, we have queued up for buses, but none have come. A few taxis that came raised their fares so high. The government should come to our aid in Badagry by providing some of the Lagos BRT buses for us here,” he said.Christiana Adigun, an employee of the National Population Commission (NPC), said she could not drive to her office because she had difficulty getting petrol for her car.

She said that, despite being willing to buy a litre at N1,000, it was challenging to get the product, and getting a commercial vehicle to her office also posed another challenge.Only the NNPC fuel station at Aradagun and the Mobil filling station in Badagry were selling at official prices of N568 and N610, respectively.However, other independent marketers with fuel stations were selling between N950 and N1,000 per litre.Friday Ajasa, a motorist, said his car had been in the queue at NNPC Aradagun since 7:00 a.m., adding that as of 12:00 noon, he had yet to get the product.

Mr Ajasa said, “When we blame the government for the scarcity, we should as well blame petrol marketers in Badagry for the hike because they are not helping the situation. Some of the cars in the queue at the fuel stations in Badagry belong to illegal cross-border petrol dealers who usually take the product to the Benin Republic to re-sell.“Most major marketers here prefer to sell to them rather than to residents, which is the height of unpatriotic conduct. When these people enter, they buy up to 350 litres of petrol inside one car, and for us who just wanted 15 litres in our vehicles, they will tell you that petrol has finished.”Funke Alabi, a motorist in the line at the Mobil filling station, called on security agents to check the excesses of petrol pump attendants in the area.

Explaining the reason for the scarcity of petrol, Abdul-Ganiyu Adelani, the chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers, Badagry, blamed the scarcity on the lack of products at the NNPC tank farm.Mr Adelani urged the NNPC to make available more petrol in their tank farms so that all filling stations in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria would get enough supply.