The NNPC mega and mini retail outlets in Awka, the capital of Anambra state were closed to customers as they had no products while only private marketers’ outlets were selling with few vehicles queuing up to buy petrol.
Some motorists in the town expressed concern that the price of petrol had continued to rise without anybody coming to their rescue.
They accused the marketers of arbitrarily hiking prices because Christmas and New Year celebrations are near.
NAN reports that fares for intracity shuttle had increased by 100 per cent as transporters now collect N200 for distances that cost N100 in the last.
Mrs Jane Oranu, a civil servant who lives in Onitsha but works in Awka, said a one-way fare which was N300 now costs between N750 and N800.
Oranu said the increase in transport fare had put an additional burden on household finances.
She called on the Federal Government to intervene in the petrol price issue and save the masses from unbearable hardship.
In a reaction, Mr Chinedu Anyaso, Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Enugu Depot Community, blamed the price increase on cost of procuring products.
