Date: 2017-12-27

Bicycles have become the preferred means of transportation in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital due to scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Educated elite, especially teachers and undergraduates of universities and polytechnics in the town, have chosen bicycles as a substitute.

Many car owners have also become pedestrians. They now trek long distances to and from their destinations.

A Cardiology Consultant with University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Dr. Ayo Ogunmodede said though the scarcity was regrettable, the health benefits of such "forced physical exercises" could not be quantified.

The new lifestyle is coming on the heels of 100 per cent rise in transport fares from one point to another within the metropolis, just as the price of PMS yesterday rose to N400 per litre in the unofficial markets popularly known, Black Market. The Guardian investigations showed that none of the over 100 filling stations in the town sold the product as at press time.

Many residents who spend longer time than necessary waiting for cabs and buses at terminuses are yearning for an end to the scarcity, especially civil servants who resumed works today.