Residents of Yenagoa and other parts of Bayelsa State in South-South Nigeria are groaning under acute fuel scarcity following the flood disaster that has made it impossible for petroleum products to be easily brought into the state.
AIT.live gathered that the unavailability of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol and other petroleum products have negatively impacted almost all sectors in the state, including transportation, price of goods and services as well as power generation.
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For many days, truck drivers have been unable to get petroleum products into Bayelsa State due to the destruction of sections of the East-West Road by flood, a scenario that has pushed the price of petrol up by 500 percent.
Long queues are currently common sights at various service stations around Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital
To avoid electrocution accidents, many areas have been disconnected from the National Power Grid but this unfortunately only helps to increase the demand for fuel and other energy sources.
Many residents believe that oil marketers are hoarding products and passing them to the black market for higher profits.
In a bid to address the fuel scarcity, the Bayelsa State Government has constituted a Petroleum Products Taskforce to discourage hoarding and to look for avenues to bring fuel into the state using barges.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)