In the upcoming days, Ekiti State's access to petroleum products may be hampered as petroleum marketers deal with the terrible state of the roads.
Evangelist Olu Olobele, the chairman of the Petroleum Dealers Association of Nigeria in Ekiti State, dropped the hint yesterday while surveying the shoddy state of the highways connecting Ekiti with neighbouring states.
He bemoaned the fact that many of their vehicles that were transporting petroleum items to the state were stranded there.
Olobele expressed worry that failure to repair the roads might affect the smooth supply and distribution of fuel to the state, leading to fuel scarcity if urgent steps were not taken to fix the roads.
He said: “The association wishes to draw the attention of the government to the deplorable condition of roads in the state.
It’s inarguable that major roads leading to the state are in a sorry state. This is indeed a sorry situation. There are no alternative routes for us because Ekiti is cut off and this is affecting the economy.
“I’m afraid, we would have to witness a shortage in supply because when our vehicles are unable to get here, I wonder what we will dispense to customers.”
The Deputy Chairman of the association, Mrs Modupe Akinola, urged the Federal Ministry of Works and Federal Road Maintenance Agency to find a solution to the problem.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the association, Alhaji Suleiman Akinbami, lamented that some of the trucks conveying petroleum products fell between Ado-Ekiti and Akure, while petrol worth millions of naira was wasted.