Nigerians were jolted by a new price regime for Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, and it created a huge discomfort in Edo State as many motorists and vehicle owners did not prepare for it.
Before the increase, petrol stations apart from NNPC retail outlets were selling fuel between N691 and N980 in Benin City, the state capital, while it was a bit higher in other areas like Uromi, Auchi, Ekpoma, Igarra and others.
An indication that something was in the offing started the previous day when many fuel stations were closed to customers and by the next morning, a queue surfaced at NNPC Mega Station which was not selling until midday when the news came that NNPC had increased the price of fuel. The mega station in Sapele Road immediately increased its pump price to N881.
The closest to the new N885 was N1,020, while others sold for between N1,100 and N1,300.
The effect on transportation was instant, public vehicle drivers immediately increased their transport fares. Areas charging N400 immediately increased to N600 and some even doubled the amount.
A car owner and resident of Benin City, Cyril Bello expressed displeasure on the development. “It is a terrible situation and it is a case of government deceiving the people. For 24 hours I was not able to sleep because I could not understand what was happening.
“A few hours before then, we were told that Dangote Refinery’s petrol would soon hit the market and that would flood our local consumption, and eventually, the price per litre would drop. I was personally hoping and praying for that to happen and I thought by then, the price could become maybe N400 and from nowhere, they came up with the new price. This is wicked, this is painful.
“Now as we speak, nobody has been able to tell us what is happening, the rationale for the increment, is how market forces determine prices as they have been preaching. I think they are creating a situation where we will get to what we are complaining that is too high will become the minimum for us because I was angry to buy fuel at N800 to N900 but once the price was increased I had to start running around looking for a fuel station that would sell for less than N1,000 per litre. This is unacceptable.”
