By CHARLES IWUOHA

Residents of Owerri, the lmo State capital, have lamented the continuous rise in the pump price of premium motor spirit (petrol) as the price of the product continues to soar daily.

Residents were seen trekking to work as commercial bus drivers, especially Keke bus drivers, temporarily halted their services within the metropolis in protest over the continuous rise in the price of fuel in the country.

The development came on the heels of the further hike in fuel prices in parts of the state from N850 to between N900 and N1000 per litre as of Monday this week.

People were seen in the rush hours of yesterday morning trekking to work in their numbers along some of the popular roads in the metropolis, as only a few commercial buses were seen plying the road.

This was the case along the busy Owerri-Okigwe Road and Wetheral Road, among others.

News Express learnt that the high price of fuel compelled commercial bus drivers to further hike fares for various destinations in the city of Owerri and parts of the state.

Some residents who spoke with News Express revealed that the hardship caused by the hike in fuel pump price is affecting every sector in the state.

Chinedu Ofoha, a bus driver, said that they don’t feel happy increasing the price of transportation but that it became inevitable due to the increase in the price of petroleum products.

“It became worrisome when the fuel price started rising on a daily basis. Some filling stations are selling between N850 and N900 and some are selling at the price of N1000. Still when you go to some of the stations, they will tell you that they are not selling,” he lamented.

News Express learnt that it is only NNPC filling stations that are selling at N600 per litre. As a result, there are always long queues of motorists at every NNPC station.

“Sometimes we sleep at the station to be the first person to attend to when they reopen the next day,” Ofoha further said.

A fruit seller at World Bank Market, Rosemary Emenike, said that fruit sellers are experiencing low patronage from buyers because of the changes in their prices as a result of the increase in transport fares.

“When we go to the rural markets to purchase the fruits, conveying them to town becomes a problem as drivers charge us beyond what we can afford. When you ask why, they will tell you, are you not in the country? So for us to meet up, we increase the prices of the fruits,” she said.

News Express recalls that fuel price has risen astronomically since President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on fuel on May 29, 2023, during his inaugural speech as president.

Many Nigerians have blamed the persistent rise in fuel price and high cost of goods and services in the country on the president’s hasty removal of subsidy on fuel, given the country’s dependence on imported fuel.