From Uche Usim, Abuja
This is certainly not the best time to live in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as residents battle a range of socio-economic challenges including insecurity, poor electricity supply and lately, scarcity of petrol and diesel to fuel offices and homes.
The petrol scarcity imbroglio for instance has lasted several months as assurances of succour from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has failed to ease the agony of residents.
Many motorists who now sleep in filling stations to get the commodity or buy from black market dealers at N350/litre have continued to lament their fate.
For instance, a taxi driver, John Amos, told Daily Sun that his health is now failing as the regular sleepless nights spent at Abuja fuel stations have raised his blood pressure beyond tolerable limits.
“Once in two days, I must languish in queues for hours. Most times after all the stress, I’ll still not get the product. Some of my friends who sleep in filling stations too, work and retire there. They sleep in their cars. Isn’t that painful for an energy producing nation like Nigeria? It’s totally unfair”, he wailed.
The ugly development has forced commuters to trek long distances as very few commercial vehicles are on the road due to scarcity.
Gladys Owoh, civil servant, narrated a nerve-racking story of how she was robbed while trekking to the bus stop in Wuse, where she hoped to get an airport road taxi. “From nowhere, two men accosted me. This was just about 6pm. They brandished daggers in broad daylight. I was frozen in fear. I surrendered my handbag immediately and therein were my ATM card, mobile phone, N2,800, receipts and house keys. But were it not for scarcity of taxi cabs, I would not need to trek in the first place and perhaps not lose my valuables,” she lamented.
Meanwhile following the worsening electricity supply, scarce petrol, expensive diesel and high price of goods, several companies in the FCT have shutdown.
Over the weekend, Daily gathered that over 40 bakeries in Abuja have succumbed to the harsh operating environment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that some of the bakeries that have so far closed shops are; Abumme bakery Ltd. Lugbe, Airports road, Hamdala Bakery, Kuje, Harmony Bite Bakery, Karu, Doweey Delight Bakery Ltd, Kubwa.
Others include Merit Baker, Mpape, Funez Baker, Orozo, Slyz Bakery, and Wuse Zone 2, among others. Mr Ishaq Abdulraheem, the chairman, Abuja Master Bakers, FCT said that it was becoming increasingly disturbing that bakeries in Abuja could no longer cope with the high cost of production.
