Residents of the Bayelsa state capital, Yenagoa, and its surrounding areas have been concerned about the high cost of gasoline prices in the state.

Checks carried out by our correspondent on Wednesday showed that while some major traders are selling a liter of fuel for N250, others are selling the product for N350 and N380 per liter as consumers flock to filling stations with jerrycans of different sizes. .

It was noted that only the NNPCL gas station along the Sani Abacha highway was selling gasoline at N179 per litre.

This had led to long lines of vehicles at the service station in the past three months, as some motorists slept there or left their homes at 4am to join the queue.

Concerned about the situation, some residents and motorists have asked the Federal Government to fix local refineries to reduce the suffering of consumers.

According to some of the consumers, they were wasting productive hours waiting endlessly at service stations to buy fuel at the regulated price.

They regretted that their agony has been aggravated by the deficient electricity supply in the metropolis of Yenagoa, a situation that has forced residents, operators of commercial complexes and offices to totally depend on their generators for their electricity supply.

A frustrated commercial trike operator who gave his name as Matthias Okon said he was fed up with the arbitrary cost of gasoline in Yenagoa.

“Every day, every week it is the same problem of fuel shortages and long lines in Yenagoa. It is painful and excruciating,” she said.

One bus driver, Mr. Yomi, who said he had to sleep at the gas station, urged the government to implement measures to tackle the problem, including renovating refineries.

Another driver from one of the transport companies, Mr. Nonso Chikwendo, wondered why the government could not fix the refineries as a solution to the fuel situation.

He said: “How can Nigeria be an oil producing nation with refineries and we will be suffering for fuel? That they work in the refineries so that there is fuel”.

The reports quoted the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who stated that the Port Harcourt Refinery, which was undergoing renovation, would start operations in the first quarter of 2024.