Expdonaloaded News; WORRIES IN WARRI

Thousands of motorists in Warri and its environs in Delta State are currently experiencing hard times, as long queues return to the few filling stations selling petroleum products.
Described as the worst in recent times, majority of the consumers have turned the few filling stations that still have fuel into their temporary homes, with some vowing not to go home until they purchased the product which have become an essential commodities.
Expdonaloaded blog gathered that most of the filling stations have virtually shut down, as they can not get the products to buy, while some lucky ones that have fuel and kerosene now sell at very exorbitant rates. Most unfortunate is the attitude of some dealers who sell their allocation of the product at night to traders who resell it to black market operators.
Investigation revealed, however, that there are enough products at the Pipeline and
Products Marketing Company (PPMC) from where all petroleum products are distributed to various dealers within and outside the state.
Feelers have it that sharp practices have become the order of the day at the loading depot where huge sums of money are allegedly changing hands each passing day.
Some residents of the city are of the opinion that strict monitoring of petroleum products needs to be applied to checkmate incidences of bribery and corruption currently prevalent at the depot.
“It is appalling that Warri, popularly known as the Oil City, a place where petroleum products are produced in commercial quantities, is facing this type of situation. The Federal Government should be very serious with the distribution of the products so that tanker drivers can come and load their products easily,” chorused some beleaguered drivers who claimed they have been in Warri for weeks to get fuel...post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..But officials at the depot who did not want their names in print debunked the situation, saying that the current fuel scarcity is a nationwide phenomenon, which is not limited to Warri alone.
In some filling stations, a litre of fuel sells for between N150 and N200 while some have reset their pumps to make lot a more gain.
Further investigation revealed that some dealers in the city prefer distributing theirs to customers outside the state in an attempt to make profit, to the detriment of consumers within their area.
Some dealers, who could not hide their feelings, slammed government officials at the NNPC for conniving with unscrupulous elements that sell the product much higher than the official price.
As the scarcity takes its toll on the poor masses, motorists and cyclists who could not afford the excessive price have decided to park their vehicles and opt for public, commercial transport.
Unfortunately, some filling stations, which operate within the NNPC area, have virtually shut their facilities, even as some have resolved to sell the petrol only in the night.
“It is most disappointing that even some stations in this area don’t sell in the daytime. Rather, they prefer to sell their products in the night,” lamented scores of motorists and commercial motorcycle operators.
Many members of the public are calling on the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the matter and settle the issue of fuel supply and its attendant worries once and for all.
“We cannot be suffering when we have functional refineries within the South-South zone. Let the in-coming government apply stringent measures to curb the excesses of those hoarding petroleum products,” a resident said.