KEY POINTS
- Fuel hawkers sell petrol at lower prices than filling stations.
- Motorists turn to street vendors due to widespread shortages.
- Hawkers source fuel from tanker drivers during nighttime operations.
Nigerians are already tired of the current petrol scarcity in the country. A lot has happened since the day fuel subsidy was eradicated but the most shocking of them all is that petrol hawkers now sell at a cheaper price than filling stations.
According to a report by Vanguard, hawkers along Mile 2-Apapa expressway sell their fuel at N1,000 per litre, which is cheaper than the N1,070 selling price at most filling stations controlled by independent marketers.
Aside from major distributors like Mobil, Total, Ardova Plc, MRS, Eternal filling stations, and others sell at prices between N1,070 and N1,400 per litre.
Motorists turn to street sellers as supply issues persist
It was also observed that motorists easily get any quantity of fuel to buy from these street hawkers while there wouldn’t be fuel in some filling stations or would have to queue for hours before they could fill their tank. These hawkers never run out of fuel and are assured of consistent supply from tanker drivers who sell fuel for them at very cheap rates.
People who are in the transportation business are deeply grateful to the hawkers and see them as God-sent.
One of them said, “I ran out of fuel in the traffic along Mile-2 expressway and only God knows what would have happened to me if these hawkers were not there to sell petrol,” he said.
Urgent need for solutions as Nigerians struggle with fuel scarcity
The current situation is so sad. Fuel is expensive and scarce. Motorists now patronize street hawkers rather than buy from a standard filling station. Some buyers testified that aside from the cheap prices of the hawkers, the fuel they sell is of the same quality as what is available at the filling stations.
Currently, Nigerians and motorists are at the mercy of filling stations. Unlike before when filling stations would beg motorists to buy from their stations. And even go as far as offering incentives such as windscreen cleaning, and educating rivers on how to maintain their engines.
There needs to be a way forward out of this distress. The government and all the stakeholders involved should work on taking the pressure off the people’s neck.
