Scarcity of premium motor spirit, popularly called petrol, has again hit Ilorin metropolis and other towns in Kwara State.

Our correspondent, who monitored the development in Ilorin on Monday, observed that many filling stations were locked, while only few stations were selling the product to desperate motorists and other users.

The situation led to long queues of motorists waiting at the few filling stations selling the product to see if they would be lucky.

The motorists, who spoke to our correspondent, lamented that the scarcity had unleashed hardship on them less than two weeks after the conclusion of the general elections.

They called on relevant agencies of government to quickly intervene in order to prevent the hardship from escalating.

A taxi driver, Fatai Kadri, said he had been on the queue for over two hours and had yet to purchase the product, adding that the scarcity of petrol had prevented him from engaging in his business and wondered how he would cater for his family’s needs.

“I have been here for over two hours waiting and hoping that I will buy fuel. Up till now, I am yet to buy. This is unbearable. I do not know how to feed my family today when I get back home,” he said.

Reports from other towns and rural areas of Kwara State indicated that the fuel scarcity was biting harder there.

The Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Ilorin chapter, Mr. Olanrewaju Okanlawon, said the fuel scarcity in the state was caused by the non-availability of the product at the Ilorin depot.

“We do not have petrol at the Ilorin,” he said.