From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Some parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, are currently going through gruelling experience as a result of scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Daily Sun’s tour of Ibadan yesterday revealed that many fuel stations did not dispense the commodity to motorists.
Gates of many of the fuel stations were under lock, while some opened their gates, but only provided other services such as car servicing, wheel-balancing, alignment, sales of wares in their mini-supermarkets.
In the few fuel stations that dispensed the commodity, it was observed that none of them sold the PMS above the N145 official pump price. Some stations sold the PMS for N142 and N143.
But, some fuel stations were accused of hoarding the commodity. A station at Bashorun, said to have taken delivery of PMS on Saturday evening refused to dispense the premium spirit, probably waiting for when the pump price would increase
It was further gathered that transport fares have not skyrocketed in any part of Ibadan. A tour of Sabo in Mokola also showed that ‘black market’ has not commenced. Sabo is a place where PMS is usually sold in gallons whenever there is fuel scarcity.
Affected areas included Akobo, Eleyele, Ologuneru and Bashorun. While short queues of vehicles were sighted in some fuel stations, motorists were not faced with such challenge in some parts of Ibadan, as they would just drive in, buy the product and leave with ease.
At the NNPC Mega Station, Akobo, near Iwo Road, a queue of about 12 cars was sighted. But each of the motorists did not spend more than 10 minutes before they bought the commodity.
The situation was the same at a fuel station at Dandaru, Mokola, where a queue of about 20 cars was also sighted. The situation was not different at Ologuneru and Eleyele, as queues of vehicles at about three fuel stations were not more than 12 each.
Ademola Babalola, a resident of Ologuneru told Daily Sun that only about 30 percent of the fuel stations at Ologuneru and Eleyele dispensed the commodity, while others locked their gates.
But at Ebedi in Shasha, Abatakan near Ojoo, Agbowo Express, Cele at Mokola, and Mokola Roundabout, motorists had access to the commodity without stress.
A resident of Olorunda, near Akobo, in Lagelu Local Government Area, Mr. Abiodun Akinkunle, said he bought fuel at a station in Olorunda with ease because there was no queue at the place. Two fuel stations owned by major marketers near Oje, in Ibadan metropolis, as gathered, have been dispensing fuel.