Nigerians in several cities, including Abuja and Lagos, have been hit by a “double-whammy” of fuel scarcity and electricity outage, leaving millions struggling to keep up with their daily activities and businesses.
In Abuja, reports have it that ‘black market’ petrol sold petrol as high as N700 per litre on Wednesday, as motorists spent hours at fuel stations trying to buy the product for their cars and generators.
Recall that for weeks, the nation has faced the fuel shortage caused by the importation of low standard petrol into the country. As a result, many fuel stations have run out of fuel as the Government tries to retrieve the dirty fuel and distribute cleaner volumes.
In Abuja, ‘black’ market petrol sold as high as N700 a litre on Wednesday, an outcome of motorists spending hours at fuel stations trying to buy the product for their cars and generators.
With Nigeria’s perpetually poor electricity supply, millions of residents rely on generators for power. Prolonged fuel shortage means people are not only unable to power their cars but also their generators.
Amidst the continuing scarcity, several residents’ districts in Abuja and Lagos reported electricity outages.
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, (AEDC), in a message to customers on Wednesday, stated: “Dear Customer, please note that the interruptions of electricity supply you are currently experiencing is due to the instability of supply from the National Grid due to low Generation”.
In a similar statement to customers, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, (EEDC), which is responsible for parts of Lagos, on its official Twitter handle, posted: ”Dear customer, the present outage on Agbara 33KV Feeder is due to an accident along Badagry Express Road damaging 19 of our poles”.
It said the affected areas are Isashi, Igboelerin, Church and environs.
