Some commuters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried increased transportation fares due to fuel scarcity, making movement in the territory difficult.
On Wednesday, the commuters told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that their most significant challenge was finding commercial vehicles to their destinations, especially to their places of business or work.
They said this might be because most taxi drivers were either in the long queues in petrol stations or were off the road due to no petrol.
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They, therefore, called on the authorities concerned to speedily intervene to bring the situation back to normal as many Nigerians were suffering.
Mr Calistus Emeka, who lives around the Mararaba axis, said he had to pay N400 to the Wuse area instead of N200.
Emeka said as a cleaner working at the Secretariat, his salary was meagre, and he could barely afford to continue to pay the increased fare.
According to him, if nothing is done soon, he may not go to work in the coming days.
Mr Gabriel Oko, who also lives along the Mararaba axis, said he had to stand by the roadside for hours to get a vehicle to work.
Oko said: “Before getting to town from my area, I stood for hours waiting to get a taxi and could not find one. Before getting a cab, I had to take a bike to a certain point.
“This situation is very pathetic; even with your money, you cannot get a vehicle to convey you to your destination. I pray this does not linger for a long time.”
Ms Agatha Sule, who lives along the Gwagwalada axis, said she used to pay N400 to Area 1, but due to the lack of fuel situation, she paid N700 to town.
“I know there is fuel scarcity in town, but I was not prepared for the increased cost of transportation.
“I work as a secretary in my office. If not for I have my office keys with me, I would not have gone to work today.
“This increase is just too much. How do they expect very low-income earners like us to survive?
“The problem is that we are the ones even feeling this pain more.”
Mrs Lucy James, another commuter, said she paid N350 from Apo axis to Wuse, unlike the usual fare of N250.
James prayed that relevant authorities would intervene, posing a great challenge for many Nigerians.
Another passenger who lives in Kubwa/Dutse axis, Theophilus Ada, said the cost of transportation to town had also doubled within the past two days.
In a similar vein, Mrs Joy Benjamin, a Civil Servant, said she was forced to buy 10 litres of fuel from the black market at N5,000 to get to work.
Benjamin said she had to do that because many fuel stations were not selling the product and the one’s selling had very long queues, and she did not have time to wait.
Meanwhile, some motorists who spoke with NAN revealed that some major fuel stations preferred to sell the product to black marketers who paid the extra money to get it.
According to Mr Maurice Nze, the attendants have taken advantage of the situation to hide the fuel in the morning, only to dispense it at night to black marketers.
“A good number of filling stations are hoarding their products in the daytime but sell them at night to make more gains. This act has contributed to the suffering we are now witnessing.”
“I want to appeal to the government to set up a task force to check activities of some of these filling stations both during the day and at night”, Nze appealed.
A taxi driver, Mr Rufus Nwafor, said he spent close to three hours at the station to get fuel.
