ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol, on Tuesday increased to N1,200 per litre in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
This is following the declaration of the removal of subsidy on the product by President Bola Tinubu.
Many residents of the State have decried the high cost of petrol in the country, saying that they have since been engaged in panic buying.
Also, some residents were seen with their cans as many filling stations were under lock.
READ ALSO: Fuel Subsidy: Queues Resume In Lagos As Fueling Stations Begin To Shut Down
A resident, Darlington Okeke, told News Agency of Nigeria that President Tinubu’s statement occasioned panic buying during his inauguration on Monday.
Okeke stated that petrol in filling stations was sold between N800 and N1,200, against N230 per litre.
Another resident, Ibrahim Ali, lamented that black marketers sold a litre of fuel for N1,500.
Ali added that the development was causing panic buying and frustration among residents.
He, however, appealed to the President to address the situation to stop panic buying and arbitrary hoarding of the products, which marketers introduced after the announcement by the President.
READ ALSO: Fuel Subsidy: It Is Neither A New Development Nor An Action Of This New Administration – Tinubu
Meanwhile, staff of some filling stations, who spoke anonymously, said that the management of the Petroleum Dealers Association, Ebonyi State chapter, ordered the closure of fuel stations.
“We are waiting for further directives,” they told NAN.
Efforts to speak with Sailas Njaka, the State chairman of the association, on the development proved abortive.