As biting fuel scarcity rages in Ilorin, emergency marketers of the commodity have taken over major streets in the city and sold at outrageous prices, independent investigation by City Rove has revealed. Visits to some areas within the metropolis showed that some unidentified people, armed with five litres gallons, were hawking fuel on the streets.

Not satisfied with display of the commodity otherwise known as premium motor spirit by the roadsides, they were also persuading prospective motorists and motorcycle riders to buy when our correspondent visited.

On Railway Station near Ilorin popular Post-Office, most of the black marketers thronged road medians selling five litres of fuel between N700 and N800 depending on the affordability of the consumers.

City Rove recalls that the Department of Petroleum Resources has asked security agencies in the state to apprehend anyone caught selling fuel illegally. It was learnt that Station, Maraba, Oloje and the likes have become haven for fuel hawkers.

The investigation also indicated that some petrol stations within the city deceptively displayed N86.50k on their machines while in actual fact they dispensed at exorbitant prices.

For instance, some filling stations on Offa-Garage road sell a litre of fuel at N130 but dubiously displayed N86.50k on their machines. It was gathered that the illicit transaction has been on for sometime now while the spiral effect of the unwholesome practices had taken tolls on the masses.

The Federal Government through the Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency had directed that NNPC retail outlets should sell a litre of fuel for N86 while other marketers including major and independent should dispense at N86.50 per litre.

However, findings revealed that the end to the crisis of fuel shortage in Ilorin city was not in sight with the activities of fuel hawkers.

Most of them display the product in the night to avoid being arrested by the security agencies. When City Rove approached one of the hawkers at Railway Station to know the source of the product, he refused to speak.

He stated that it would naïve of him to comment on that because of implication on the source and his illicit business. Some of his colleagues in the business also declined comment when our correspondent met them at Maraba yesterday.