ABA RESIDENTS LAMENT HIKE IN PUMP PRICE OF PETROL

REPORTER: JOSHUA OBIALO

A cross-section of the residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, has lamented the hardship created by the hike in price of the Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol.

They made their comments known when Radio Nigeria went round the city to monitor the sale of the product.

There was no fixed price in all the filling stations visited, including Faulks Road, Tonimas/Umule Road, PortHarcourt Road and Old Express road as the product sold for between #220 and #250 per litre.

In an interview, the Manager of one of the stations, Mr. Sunshine Mayor, said they were selling from old stock, which would soon run out as the commodity had not been brought from Port Harcourt for nearly a month due to bad roads.

A tricycle operator, Mr. Ndubuisi Paul, said the hike in fuel price had affected his business drastically, as many passengers still insisted on paying the old fare.

For his part, a barbing salon owner, Mr. Daniel Nwokocha, lamented that due to power outage for the past three weeks, he was forced to be fueling his generator despite the high cost, prompting him to increase his charges too.

The situation was the same for a trader, Mrs. Victoria Ifeanyi, who said the cost of transporting her commodities to her shop had doubled as well as increased the cost of living in her family.

The respondents called on the government to intervene in the matter by ensuring that petrol is sold at the approved pump price to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU