Kwara State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers' Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has blamed the seemingly unending fuel scarcity in Ilorin, the state capital and its environs on the activities of vandals.

State chairman of the association, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Olopade, said this in a chat with Daily Trust against the backdrop of ongoing fuel crisis in the state.

For the past two weeks, motorists in the state have expressed frustration over the scarcity of petroleum with major and independent filling stations locking their gates for days.

Daily Trust correspondent reports that the scarcity still persists in Ilorin metropolis as most of the filling stations remain shut, saying they have run out of stocks.

Investigations revealed that few filling stations which open to motorists sell at higher prices ranging from N110 to N150 per litre as against the official N97 per litre.

IPMAN chairman disclosed that independent marketers had ceased loading from Ilorin depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owing to unavailability of the product at the depot. 

He said the crisis was induced by vandalisation of NNPC pipeline while advocating for a holistic approach to tackle the activities of vandals.

 "Our not loading in Ilorin is not unconnected with vandalisation problem. That is the main problem. The product is not available for us to sell. In Ilorin particularly, it is due to vandalism", he stressed.

Motorists who spoke to Daily Trust correspondent called for government's intervention to nip the crisis in the bud, lamenting that the unavailability of petroleum has made them to incur huge losses.