By Peter Duru

MAKURDI —  The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol yesterday sold for as high as N150 per litre in Makurdi, the Benue State capital as a result of unavailability of the product in most filling stations in the town.

The development has crippled commercial activities in the town, prompting the emergence of long queues at virtually all the filling stations in the town yet not more than three have products to dispense to frantic customers some of whom spent the night at the stations to buy the products.

When Vanguard visited the NNPC mega station along Otukpo road, long queues of vehicles had taken over the station yet the station had no products to dispense.

The latest development has unleashed untold hardship on motorists and commuters who now spend valuable time at filling stations.

Contacted, an official of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) who spoke on condition of anonymity attributed the scarcity to shortfall in supply of petroleum products in the state.

He said the DPR was monitoring the development, stressing that their investigations revealed that marketers were not hoarding products in the state.

He said officials of the department would continue to monitor supply to filling stations in the state in order to check any incident of diversion of products.

Meanwhile, black marketers have taken advantage of the situation by selling products for as high as  N170 per litre to motorists.

Reacting to the development, Senior Special Assistant to the state Governor on Public Utilities, Mr Gadaffi
Asemanya, described scarcity the products as the handiwork of few desperate marketers who would stop at nothing to exploit motorists.