Residents groan as fuel, water scarcity persist in Sokoto
Residents of Sokoto and environs are facing difficulties with intense scarcity of fuel and potable water amidst high temperature of over 42 degree Celsius.
The the situation has subjected people to harsh and miserable conditions in the state.
Already, some commercial motorcycle, tricycle riders and commuters have abandoned their businesses due to lack of petrol as most of the stations were out of stock.
The few stations selling the commodity are charging between N750 and N1,200 per litre, while black marketers are selling the products on the streets at N2,000 a litre
Commuters, Malam Haruna Muhammad and Jami’u Afolabi, told our correspondent on Saturday that they bought a 4-litre gallon of petrol at N10,000 each from street hawkers.
Another motorist, Abdullahi Maigidaje, said he bought a 4-litre gallon of the commodity for N8,500 in the morning at Illela road and after returning from Gwadabawa he had no option than to buy the same quantity at N10,000.
Maigidaje blamed petroleum marketers for hoarding the product which has resulted in the scarcity, thereby affecting transportation services.
There are long queues of vehicles at the few filling stations opened in Sokoto metropolis.
The situation has affected transport fares as Sokoto to Kware now cost N1,300 as against the N500 while travellers from Sokoto to Illela pay N4,000 against N2,000.
The fuel scarcity has also affected interstate transport services, which have risen by between 50 and 70 per cent.
On water scarcity, a cross section of residents urged the Sokoto state government to hasten the implementation of measures announced to address the acute shortage of potable water confronting the state.
Taps had gone dry even before the scarcity of petrol and residents have been sourcing for water wherever available, while government has resorted to supplying water with tankers to douse the situation.
Water vendors sell a 20-litre keg at between N120 and N140, complaining that they fetch the water from far places and from commercial boreholes.
To assuage the situation, Alhaji Yusuf Maccido, the state Commissioner for Water Resources, on April 5, said the government had set up a committee to rehabilitate all broken down boreholes and water pumping engines, as well as dredge 72 earth dams in the medium and long term.
