Minister
of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, who promised that fuel
queues will disappear in Lagos State on Thursday, April 7, obviously did
not live up to expectation.
Fuel queues in lagos
Fuel queues has still not disappeared in Lagos state on Thursday,
and Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who had
earlier promised that petrol would be available across the state, has
obviously not lived up to his word, as most of the filling stations
without queues were the ones where fuel was not available.
In some cases, motorists even lined up in front of stations without
fuel, aimlessly hoping that the product would be available at any
moment. Not even the threat of the state government to impound vehicles
obstructing traffic scared those desperate to get the commodity.
A motorcyclist, Rafiu Adesiyan who said he had spent two hours
there, told TheCable that the station, which had been selling fuel since
9am, suddenly shut its operation without providing any explanation,
adding that he had been to other parts of Ikeja, but he was unable to
get the product.
Checks showed that of the six filling stations between Ikeja and
Ojota on Kudirat Abiola Way, only Total Filling station, after Oluyole
bus stop, had fuel, and the queues stretched beyond the station,
compounding the traffic gridlock on the ever-busy road.
Between Ojota and Ketu on Ikorodu road, only MRS filling station
had fuel, as the remaining three stations were locked. The queue at the
station was also long because people along Ogudu axis had no option but
to get fuel at the station, since the NNPC station in the area was
without the product.
A man, who simply identified himself as Charles, said he had been
on a spot for several hours, lamenting that the queue was not moving.
He said despite spending several hours in search of fuel, he was still unsure if he would be able to achieve his purpose.
"It has been very rowdy and I just hope that I will be able to
get fuel here today. This is really worrisome. It is affecting my
business; I have been tied up here for long and that’s how it has been
in the last two months. You get fuel today, tomorrow you are back to
square one."
When asked if he felt disappointed in Kachikwu over the promise, he said: "Me?
How can I be disappointed? Was there any promise in the first place? Do
I take these people seriously? Are we not all in this country? Please
forget about those fake promises."
For, Kazeem Ibrahim, a cab operator, the situation is no doubt bad, yet he believes the government is capable of making amends.
"I have lost the number of times that I slept at the station and that
is no guarantee for getting fuel. Today is even better, because I have
spent only three hours here, and this MRS station gives hope, unlike
Total that is more interested in Jerrycan sale, while NNPC mostly sells
once in a week
On Kachikwu’s promise, he said: "Honestly, it is discouraging
that the minister couldn’t match his words with action. From what we are
seeing now, the situation could continue throughout the month. This is
not really good for this government."
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