Niger faces fuel shortage
Nigerians have been struggling to buy fuel for over a week now.
Many petrol stations in the country do not have enough to sell, leading to long queues at the few stations that still have some left.
The Niger Petroleum Company, SONIDEP, is rationing the fuel, but residents say this is not helping their daily lives.
Some drivers have to go from one part of the capital, Niamey, to another just to find a few litres of petrol, according to local reports.
Moussa Kassou, a local driver, said he wasted fuel just searching for more. "I drove all the way to Boukoki, and they had nothing. Then someone called me to come to Wadata for just one litre. By the time I get there, I will have wasted almost as much as I find. It’s exhausting."
This situation is unusual for Niger, a country that has oil and built its first refinery in 2011 but today, that refinery cannot meet the growing national demand, which is more than two million litres a day.
Some people say the government is not being open about what is really happening.
Niamey resident Assoumane Hamadou Souley also said, "We don’t know much because the authorities, who should explain things, are not doing so. We are confused and don’t have real information."
SONIDEP says the problem is a shortage of stock but transport operators, who rely on fuel to make a living, do not believe this explanation. Taxi drivers say they are losing customers because fewer people are moving around.
Authorities plan to increase the number of fuel trucks in Niamey from 24 to 100 per day.
Some groups are also urging the government to reopen borders with Benin and Nigeria to bring in extra fuel. But for now, Nigeriens are still facing long waits and daily struggles to find petrol.
Source: globalsouthworld.com
