By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Residents of Jigawa State are not happy with the lingering scarcity of kerosene, which now goes for N350 per litre at the black market.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), checks in Hadejia on Tuesday showed that most petrol stations had run out of supply of the product.
The commodity, the news agency said, is now only available in black market outlets where it is sold at N350 per litre, as against the N83 approved pump price.
Black-market operators were seen making brisk businesses due to high patronage occasioned by the scarcity of the products.
Some consumers who spoke to NAN said that the situation had exposed them to hardships.
Auwalu Abdu, a resident, said his family had experienced difficulties in sourcing the product.
Abdu noted that the situation had caused a heavy drain on his pocket, adding, “I now spend a lot on kerosene due to its acute scarcity”.
Another resident, Malam Sale Danladi, said that the exorbitant prices of kerosene had forced him to rely on firewood for cooking.
“I prefer firewood because it is cheaper than kerosene even though it is cumbersome to use,” Danladi said.
He appealed to the Federal Government to help the residents by making the product available.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Dipo Olowookere