Most motorists in Abuja and Lagos on Monday celebrated Christmas on long queues at filling stations as the scarcity of petrol bites harder in the country.
LEADERSHIP reports that many residents stormed the few filling stations selling the product in the Lagos metropolis in a bid to get the product but ended up celebrating Christmas at petrol stations.
They lamented that the few petrol stations stop selling the product as soon as hoodlums come into the station to disrupt the queues.
Some residents who spoke with our correspondent about the situation said the federal government should have envisaged that fuel scarcity would occur this time.
Some residents were also seen doing brisk business by selling the product along some major roads in the Lagos metropolis.
Lamenting about the ugly trend, Gabriel Adegbenro said, “This is a minus for this government. How come they subject Nigerians to this kind of hardship this yuletide period? This is not fair at all. This must be probed. Why now, this festive season? They keep talking about tourism. Just imagine how tourists will see us as a bunch of unserious people”.
Also, Mr. Benjanmi Kolade who expressed disappointment at government said people could not go out as a result of fuel scarcity.
“Some are even stranded because there is no money. In short, what the nation needs is divine intervention”, he said.
Our correspondent also observed that many Nigerians celebrated the season in a low key, but appreciated God for the gift of life and good health.
Commenting on the situation, Mrs. Funke Bamidele, appealed to government to take drastic action in solving the scarcity problem.
“Above all, we appreciate God for His faithfulness despite what is happening in the country but I believe that God will deliver His people”, she said.
Also in Abuja, it was observed that there were long queues in most fuel stations visited yesterday, including NNPC, Oando and Total filling stations.
Mr Chris Abiti, in an interview with NAN, said he and his family stayed on a queue at the NNPC Mega Station in Central Area for more than three hours.
Abiti said that something urgent needed to be done to avert the recurrent scarcity during festivities, especially Christmas and New Year seasons.
“It’s not the leadership problem or government at fault. It’s a systemic failure of some private companies and individuals causing the problems. Something urgent must be done to spare Nigerians from this yearly agony. We should not continue like this”, he said.
Abiti added that NNPC mega stations are better than other fuel stations because the queues are moving.
In a separate interview, Aminu Ibrahim, said he was not happy about the fuel situation, adding that “festive season should be enjoyed and not spent in the fuel station”.
He called on the federal government to passionately look into the fuel problem in 2018.
Similarly, Mr Teso Joseph told NAN that he spent over four hours on the queue at Oando filling station in Zone 4.
He said the station workers sell to some selected people and also in kegs.