On Thursday, residents of Onitsha and its environs woke up to yet another increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
The price soared from N700 per liter to between N730 and N750 at various petrol stations within Onitsha and its suburbs.
This recent hike followed the closure of all fuel stations in Anambra State on Wednesday.
The shutdown occurred after fuel dealers allegedly held a meeting in Awka, the Anambra State capital, which lasted for about five hours. Stations reopened to the public around 3:30 to 4:00 pm.
It has become a pattern for fuel station owners in the state: whenever they want to increase the price of PMS, they close their stations under the pretext of holding a meeting. This meeting consistently results in a price increase. Never has there been a meeting that didn’t end in a price hike.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, which pushed the price to between N730 and N750 per liter on Thursday, petrol was selling at N700 per liter.
Just two months prior, after their last meeting, the price rose from N660 to N700. People had been managing with the N700 price, but the dealers’ meeting brought another increase.
Reacting to the situation, commuters and residents expressed their frustration and anger at the exploitative activities of the fuel dealers and the hardship it brings. They threatened to confront the dealers one day.
Mr. Eze Okwudili, a motorist, and some traders in Onitsha Main Market, Ochanja Central Market, and Ose Okwudili Market, lamented the situation. They accused the Anambra State Government of enabling the excesses of the PMS dealers.
They argued that if the government were to take decisive action against one fuel station, shutting it down for a week, others would learn their lesson. They called for residents and commuters to rise up against the dealers, as the situation had become unbearable.
Unfortunately, some dealers cannot withstand even a two-day shutdown of their stations due to their greed. The government, they claimed, is not serious about curbing the dealers’ exploitative activities.
According to Okwudili, “One day we will show them that our quietness over their activities is not cowardice. We will shake them one day. The state government’s inaction is encouraging their wicked and heartless behavior.
One day, it will hit them like a tsunami, like the #ENDSars uprising. I pity them because some of them will lose their stations.
They think we are happy with the situation they subject us to almost every two months.
They wake up, shut their stations, claim to have a meeting, and three hours later, fuel prices increase.”
He added, “As you witnessed yesterday, filling stations were closed on Wednesday, causing panic.
Commercial bus drivers and tricycle operators took advantage of the situation, charging commuters N500 or more for routes they usually charge N200 per drop.
Now, the greedy PMS dealers have achieved their goal of increasing the price from N700 per liter to N730 and N750 per liter.”
Another frustrated commuter, Okpara, said, “The annoying thing about the fuel marketers in Anambra State is their greed. Even when the government announces a reduction in the pump price of fuel, they never sell at the new price, claiming they haven’t exhausted their old stock.
But on the day the President announced ‘fuel subsidy gone,’ within thirty minutes, they raised the price from N220 to N550 per liter.
They also have no uniform price for fuel in the state. Each filling station sells according to their whims, and the government is doing nothing to stop their greedy and illegal activities. We will rise against them one day, so they know that we also have rights.”
