NUPENG strike: Fuel price up by 100%

Prices of petroleum products have gone up by 100 per cent in Kaduna State due to the on-going strike embarked upon by members of the National Union of Petroleum, Energy and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). Checks by Daily Sun showed that all filling stations in Kaduna metropolis were shut, leaving the transporters at the mercy of black marketers who were having field day right on the periphery of filling stations.

A four-litre gallon of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, that used to be sold for N500 was sold for between N850-N900. Illegal fuel hawkers exploited the situation to sell fuel in various sizes of jerry cans to desperate motorists at exorbitant prices.

One of them at the NNPC Mega Station along Alkali road, Mustapha Aliyu said he got his products from a filling station located at Rigasa, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis at the cost of N800 per gallon, which he sold for N900. According to him, he paid N200 to transport the 25 litre jerry can to Kaduna metropolis.
Meanwhile, due to the scarcity of petrol products, transport fares in Kaduna State have been hiked in the past two days.  A bus ride from Sabo to Central Market bus stop, which used to be N80 is now N150 while a trip from Kawo to Mando attracts N100. The increase in transport fares caught many residents of Kaduna unaware. Commuters, who spoke to our reporter said they were not aware of the strike.
Mr. Michael Timothy, a civil servant said he left his house and paid the normal fare but he was forced to pay a higher fare on his return journey to Malali. Mrs. Regina Audu, a banker with one of the new generation banks, said her problem was not the increase in fares but the non availability of commercial vehicles.
As at the time of  filing this report, long queues of commuters could be sighted along major streets of Kaduna, waiting for vehicles