Fuel scarcity, price hike bite harder in Awka, PH

Petroleum products scarcity has continued in Rivers and Anambra states as filling stations peg the prices of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, on N165 and N200 in Port Harcourt and Awkain the peak week of travels leading up to Christmas
Consumers Sunnewsonline spoke with in the two states said many petrol stations around Rumuagholu, Rumuosi, Mgbuoba and in other parts of Port Harcourt have placed their pump price on N170.
In Awka and neighbouring towns, the price hovered around N180 per litre.
Although the development has not affected the cost of transportation significantly, but there is much worry about it.
Some filling stations in the two states that are pessimistic of the development have locked their products and have refused to dispense. Virtually all the filling stations visited on Sunday were shut down.
Based on the fear that Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)  would penalize them, the stations have refused to change the N145 price tag on their meters.
Sunnewsonline observed that pump attendants use calculators to punch the cost of every purchase for customers order than adjusting the price on the meter.
Apart from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega station in the Port Harcourt metropolis, where some vehicles queued waiting patiently for unavailable PMS, there was no vehicle at any of the major filling stations.

In Awka, however, cost of transportation has risen following the rise in fuel pump price.
In the last four days fuel pump price has risen from N145 to between N160 and N180 per litre.
The only the NNPC mega station in the capital city was still selling at normal pump price of N143.
The development has increased transport fare as bus from Awka to Enugu which used to be N500 is now between N700 and N1000, while the city transport now moved about 100 per cent.