Shortly after President Ahmed Bola Tinubu declared an end to fuel subsidy, the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit commonly known as petrol were quickly adjusted to between N550 to N600 per litre from N195 across the country.

As if all the filling station dealers had anticipated the new President, almost every fuel dealer shut down after the announcement at Eagle Square and did not open their gates until they had adjusted their pump price, even though the fuel they had were supplied on the old NNPCL rates. 

Some filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, moved their pump price to as much as N650, while they emphasised supplies to black market dealers, who sold at N1,000 per liter.

Reports from all the geo-political zones showed no difference as our correspondents reported similar experiences all over the country, with filling stations located in rural areas and the far-flung cities, selling as much as N8,00 to N1,000 per liter.

This development consequentially triggered a 300 per cent hike in transport fares, with commuters paying as high as N1,000 for journeys that hitherto cost N300.

Severwl civil servants and businessmen are stranded as several could no longer afford the fares to work. Those who have cars are also on the edge as they had to fuel their vehicles from non-existent fuel stations and had little or no money to make the purchases even when they had money with the.

Worst is that not just did the duel dealers adjust their pumps, most of them locked their gates to business, triggering long queues at fuel stations across Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Ilorin, Benin, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Jos, Makurdi, Maiduguri, Sokoto and other key cities.

President Tinubu had in his inaugural address at the Eagle Square on Monday pronounced with finality an end to subsidy, noting that the 2023 Appropriation Act did not provide for petrol subsidy beyond June; the end of the 18-month extension period approved by the Muhammadu Buhari administration for the discontinuance of the subsidy regime.

Petrol subsidy gulped N6.88trn under the administration of former President Buhari, according to data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

But taking advantage of the President’s Monday pronouncement, fuel outlets hiked the pump price to the consternation of citizens.

Participants who spoke during a Twitter space session on subsidy removal on Tuesday said they bought fuel above the official price.

“I bought fuel at N600/litre at Nnewi, Anambra State today (Tuesday),” a participant who simply gave his name as Chukwuemeka, stated.

Another participant said he bought the commodity at N700/litre in Ondo State as more filling stations gear up for the eventual halt of the fuel subsidy regime.

Queues worsen

Meanwhile, queues worsened in some parts of Lagos and Ogun states as transporters hiked their fares while fuel prices went as high as N600/litre at some fuel outlets.

Meanwhile, the queue for fuel at the North West fuel station, Westex Bus Stop heading toward Gbagada extended almost to Ikorodu Road.

Our correspondent observed that transport fares along the Oshodi-Apapa corridor had increased by 100 per cent, the same as the Oshodi-Ojota-Ketu route.

When one of our correspondents visited some fuel stations around the Ikotun, Igando, and Egbeda axis of Lagos, there were very long queues of motorists.

In Ogun State, one of our correspondents observed that all the filling stations between Akute and Alagbole, including Mobil, Enyo, and two NNPC outlets had been shut down.

In Nasarawa and Niger states as well as Abuja, the queues for petrol at the few filling stations that dispensed products grew worse on Tuesday, as most outlets were shut.

In Calabar, residents woke up on Tuesday to a long line of vehicles at the Dozzy, Fynfield and NNPC filling stations on the Murtala Mohammed highway.

A litre of fuel was sold for N400 with black marketers selling at N800 per litre in some parts of the city.

At the Northwest fuel station, there was a long queue as the attendants said they were awaiting directives on how much to dispense the product.

However, a litre of fuel was sold for N600 in Atimbo, while Fynefield was on Goldie Street where there were long queues in the morning.

Queues also resurfaced at fuel outlets in Ilorin, Kwara state capital on Monday evening.

In Enugu, the sit-at-home declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra to mark the May 30 Biafra Day worsened the situation as many fuel stations refused to open for business while those that opened around the popular NOWAS area sold at N148 per litre.