Ali Abare, Gombe
Long queues are back in various filling stations across Gombe metropolis as fuel scarcity that had eased off recently resurfaces.
Commuters were seen stranded in long queues, on Tuesday, as they struggled to buy fuel at various filling stations in Gombe.
Addressing journalists on the matter, Head of Operations at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Bernard Amos, blamed shortfall in fuel supplies as well as sharp practice by some consumers for the recent scarcity in Gombe.
He disclosed that since the fuel scarcity began in December, Gombe has been experiencing a shortfall in supplies.
“Supplies flactuate since December, with most time fuel supplies to Gombe not up to the sufficiency level,” Amos said.
Amos equally blamed the incessant fuel scarcity on panic buying by consumers.
“People are following media reports and as soon as they hear there’s fuel scarcity in Abuja or Lagos, they rush to buy in panic even when they have no use for the fuel,” he said.
The DPR official said that sharp practices by some consumers also have the tendency to sustain the fuel scarcity.
“Commercial motorcyclists are now stocking fuel as their business. Even rachety taxis no longer ply the road but stick to buying mainly fuel in filling stations only to sell it back to black marketers.”
On what the DPR is doing to tackle the issue of racketeering at the filling stations Amos lamented that there’s no law that allows DPR to sanction those who come to buy fuel at filling stations in order to sell it back.
“No law to arrest such offenders except those with fabricated tanks. Mostly, we arrest and delay such offenders Aa deterrent,” he explained.
Amos said the DPR in Gombe is up and doing but that the enormity of the situation calls for concerted effort by all and sundry to address the lingering fuel scarcity.
He said with improvement in supplies into the state, the long queues in filling stations would disappear.
Amos disclosed that officials from the department sustain constant surveillance on the activities of oil marketers with a view to ensuring they keep to regulations.
A commercial motorcyclist, Abubakar Umaru, seen at the Matrix Filling station located in Tunfure area of the city, told Daily Sun that the fuel scarcity is only peculiar to Gombe metropolis.
“If you go to the outskirts, there is no fuel scarcity. Something is wrong and I want to believe this is the handiwork of some selfish individuals,” he said.