By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, October 28 (Radarr Africa) – Niger has imposed an overnight curfew on petrol sales across the country after a fuel shortage spread to the capital, Niamey, Africanews reported.
The government announced that stations may not sell fuel between 9pm and 6am, except at designated stations, so that suppliers can restock them. The measure covers suppliers including the Nigerien Petroleum Company (Sonidep), Africanews said, and is described as temporary.
Selling fuel in jerry cans outside stations is banned in all areas that have at least one petrol station, according to the report. Authorities asked Nigeriens to show “understanding and civic-mindedness”, Africanews reported.
Long queues have spread at stations as the shortage grows. Residents in Niamey and elsewhere told the broadcaster that the lack of fuel makes it hard to get to work and carry out daily activities.
An earlier Africanews report, published on October 19 and credited to agencies, said fuel shortages were spreading across Niger and had reached Niamey. Motorists faced increasingly long queues, the report said.
Harouna Cherif, a resident of Niamey, told the agency: “For a week now we’ve been struggling.” He said people cannot find fuel to get to work. Another resident, Abdoulaye Zakari, said they had been told the shortage was over but still saw no end in sight.
Some residents said they had been searching for fuel for days even though authorities had said the shortage had ended, according to the October 19 report. That report gave no figures on fuel volumes, prices or the number of people affected, and said the cause of the shortage and the date supplies would return to normal remained unclear.
The curfew has added a new difficulty for transport operators. Moussa Ide Boubacar, a taxi driver, told Africanews he had been unable to make his payments for two days. He said his daily revenue is about 20,000, of which 8,000 goes to payments and 12,000 to fuel. The report did not state the currency.
He described “some management issues” caused by the shortage, according to the broadcaster.
The taxi union Synctaxi has asked for the curfew to be relaxed for operators struggling to make ends meet. Its secretary-general, Ganda Sanda, said: “To obtain fuel, you need authorisation.” He called on the governorate and the governor to reconsider the measure, Africanews reported.
Sanda said the transport sector makes a significant contribution to the country’s development, according to the report.
Africanews said the curfew follows a countrywide fuel shortage. Its report did not say how long the curfew will last, how many designated stations are exempt, or what the government plans to do to restore supply.
The report did not carry a response from Sonidep.
