Marketers of petroleum products in Rivers State have continued to hoard petroleum products in anticipation of a possible price hike by the Federal Government in the new year.
Findings by our correspondent on Tuesday revealed that most filling stations with the products in Port Harcourt, the state capital, were still shut.
However, unofficial markets were sprawling near such filling stations with desperate motorists falling over themselves to buy at exorbitant pump prices.
It was observed that out of about 100 filling stations along the ever-busy Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt, only three attended to motorists while two on the Port Harcourt Old Township Road and Aba Road opened to the public on Tuesday.
The development led to the emergence of long queues of motorists on the two roads.
Some riot policemen had to move in to save the rowdy situation in the stations, as touts and fuel hawkers clashed occasionally with buyers.
A 20-litre can of petrol that normally sells for N1,300 was sold for N3,500 by touts on the side of one of the major marketing firms near the Peoples Democratic Party�s secretariat in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Policemen, who were in most of the stations, neither arrested nor discouraged any of the touts from engaging in the illegal business.
The Group Public Affairs Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Levi Ajunoma, had alleged on a television programme on Monday night that marketers were responsible for the current scarcity of petroleum products in the country.
Ajunoma stated that the NNPC had made available enough products to the marketers and that there was no price increase to warrant the action of dealers.
He warned that government would have no option than to close down any station that refuses to sell to motorists at the approved prices.
Motorists have been finding it very difficult to fill their tanks in the past one month due to sharp practices at the filling-stations in the state.�
Most of the dealers claimed that they had not been allocated any supplies by the NNPC for a long time.