Due to the steady increase in fuel prices over the past two weeks, traffic has significantly decreased in Uyo, the state capital of Akwa Ibom, and other significant cities in the state.
As opposed to N165 per litre offered a few months ago, some outlets in the state now sell gasoline for above N350.
There are apparently fewer automobiles on the roads currently as a result of this invention because few owners of private cars and drivers of commercial trucks could afford the product.
Due to the high expense of transportation in the state, this has led to some passengers turning to hiking while many have reduced the frequency of their trips.
Many state residents who traveled back home for the Christmas holiday appear to be trapped because the cost of a commercial bus ride from Uyo to Lagos has increased from N15,000 to N30,000 since the beginning of last month.
The state administration claimed to have obtained 1.5 million liters of fuel through special arrangements for independent marketers to distribute, but this hasn’t provided the relief that was hoped for because the marketers have continued to operate without any oversight or control.
Residents have voiced disapproval and disgust over a request to report stations dispensing at more than N300 per litre made by the state Task Force on Petroleum Monitoring Chairman, Mr. Victor Etefia, claiming that such a request was unlawful.
Ubong Eddie, a commercial bus driver, expressed indignation over what he called the state’s marketers’ covert introduction of a new price regime of N300 per liter and questioned why regulatory bodies had taken no action to hold the marketers to account.
He asserted, “You don’t expect the task force chairman to be on the side of commuters because he is a petrol salesman. Okay, have you seen a filling station that has been penalized since they started selling at N300 and now N350 per litre?
However, despite the fact that the product is sold for less than N300 in neighboring Cross River and no explanation has been provided by the appropriate authorities as to the abrupt price increase.
“Things are just going out of control and the government agencies that are supposed to monitor the activities of these independent marketers seem helpless. Have you not seen that there are few vehicles on the road?
“The private ones are very few and we the commercial vehicle drivers are finding it difficult to cope with the current price because the passengers are not finding it funny whenever we tell them the price for the journey they want to make. It is really a difficult situation.”
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