Fuel scarcity and the way forward

This is indeed a very terrible issue at this very point in time Commuters in the Anambra capital, Awka and its environs have resorted to trekking to their destinations as the pump price of petrol hit N220 per litre in the state since Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many filling stations in the capital territory that had the product sold at N220, though some sold at N200. As at the time of filing this report on Thursday, commercial vehicles had cashed in on the situation to charge high fares, citing the cost petrol. A civil servant, Mr Joseph Nwankwo, told NAN that the development had made him to wake up as early as 6 a.m. daily to trek about four kilometres which used to cost N70 by public transport. The civil servant added that the fare for the distance had increased to N150. “Since our government is not planning to up our salaries for now, I can’t afford to pay the new fares. “My current salary cannot sustain me till the end of the month if I should be spending over N300 every day. “I have family needs to take care of not to talk of the children’s school fees which is not far from now,’’ he said.