The fuel crisis rocking the nation in the past three weeks has not thawed.
The long queues of vehicles and motorcycles at the few filling stations selling fuel are the tell tale marks of the aggravating nature of the fuel crisis in Ibadan, and by extension, Oyo State.
In parts of Ibadan metropolis such as Molete, Oke Ado, Sango, Sabo, Jemibewon Road, Mokola, U.I, Oojo, Jericho, Gbagi and Adegbayi vehicle owners, motorcyclists and residents with their kegs stayed till late evening and arrived very early at filling stations just to buy fuel.
Some of them shared their experiences with Radio Nigeria
A motorist, Mr Mukaila Oladimeji, explained that he had to pass the night at a filling station, while another motorist, Mr.Olanrewaju Olayiwola said he had to queue at a fuel station which sold at official price without being sure of getting the product.
As usual, black market has been thriving with jerry cans of different sizes lining the streets like wares, despite the potential danger this spells.
A black market operator, who spoke with Radio Nigeria, said petrol stations sold the product to them for N250 in the night, while they sold to residents at N400 or N500.
This underscores the complicity of petroleum marketers in the current crisis.
Some residents, Mr Adebola and Mrs Bola Adeoti said the current situation had compelled them to also patronize the black market.
Efforts to speak with the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was however not successful as the Controller was unavailable to comment on the development.
Meanwhile, the cost of transportation has skyrocketed with about forty per cent increase.
Consequently, some people resort to trekking some distance before boarding commercial vehicles to their places of work due to financial constraints.
Olukemi Akintunde
