There is acute fuel scarcity in Makurdi, the Benue State capital and its environs.
Yesterday, motorists observed that all independent petroleum marketers who are major suppliers of premium motor spirit or petrol put their filling stations under lock and key.
There were long queues of vehicles on few that sold the product.
Black marketers immediately took control of the chaotic situation as they sold at N500 per litre.
The Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Benue state chapter, Comrade James Tor, told The Nation on the phone that Benue marketers are yet to receive the product.
“The Federal Government is yet to ship products into the country and until ships arrive in the country, the scarcity will continue.”
On how long the scarcity will last now that Christmas and New Year seasons are approaching, Comrade Tor said: “The Federal Government is solely responsible for the importation n of fuel. He appealed to consumers to be patient.
At press time, Mnyim Petrol Station in High-Level Area on Old Otukpo Road was selling, but there were long vehicles in the queue.
The Nation also observed that most of the black marketers with petrol were in front of petrol stations and displayed the products in jerry cans.
Vehicle owners who spoke to The Nation expressed concern that petrol scarcity is coming towards the end of the year and during the electioneering campaign period.