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Imo indigenes groan as price of petrol hits N70
By Ben Duru
Correspondent, Owerri
People in Owerri and its environs in Imo State are groaning
under the weight of the spiralling cost of living arising from the rise in the
prices of petroleum products especially petrol that has reached N70.
Few days to the celebration of Christmas and the New Year,
commuters are complaining of high cost of transport and the ripple effect on
other social services and food items.
It was said that immediately the Nigeria Labour Congress called
off the strike it proposed to start on November 16, petroleum marketers in Imo
and its environs increased their pump prices above the agreed prices.
Kerosene sold for between N55 to N70, while petrol sold for
between N50 and N60 per litre.
This action prompted the NLC in the state to warn
independent marketers to revert to the agreed pump price or face the
consequence of non-compliance, adding that a monitoring team would soon be
established to pay unscheduled visits and axe offenders.
But two weeks to the Yuletide, the prices of these petroleum
products have risen sporadically and have forced buyers to cry out to
government and labour to intervene.
It was learnt that in Owerri and environs the price of
petrol now goes for between N60 and N70 per litre at most stations, while the
prices of kerosene hovers between the N65 and N80 per litre.
Marketers said the prices of the products have gone up at
the depots where they buy them.
They blamed government for playing on the people’s
intelligence by pretending not to know what was going on, saying government is
aware that the prices of these commodities being increased.
“We do not know why government pretends it does not
know what is going on. It is aware
that the prices of these products have increased at the various depots. Since government does not want to call
the people to order, we shall not bear the cost of the loss,” a marketer
said.
But the commuters said both labour and the Mantu-led
Palliative Committee have failed them since the prices of the products have
continued to increase.
They called on government and labour to come to their rescue
by ensuring that the marketers stuck to the terms of the agreement between
labour and government in the interest of the masses.
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