Nollywood actress Funke Akindele cycles to church as petrol scarcity ground her cars

NOLLYWOOD actress Funke Akindele has reacted to the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country by cycling to her local church in Lagos as petrol shortages deprived her of the use of one of her numerous cars.

 

Over the last few weeks, Nigerian has been gripped by a chronic petroleum product shortage as marketeers and the government bicker over payments. Insisting that the government pays them the sum of N200bn (£637.26m) they claim is owed them by the federal government, independent petroleum depot owners shut their facilities to tanker drivers.

 

Although over the weekend, the depot owners decided to end the siege, the lengthy queues are yet to disappear due to the huge backlog created. Yesterday, Ms Akindele, 38, who won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, decided to shun her celebrity status and cycle to church.

 

With the resolution of the crisis though, the situation is expected to get better during the course of this week. Despite being Africa’s biggest oil producer, petroleum products have to be imported to Nigeria because the country's domestic refineries are not functioning.

 

During the latest dispute, the government maintains that money has been paid and the importers are holding the country to ransom by demanding losses from the slump in the naira caused by the global drop in oil prices. However, the depot owners insist that they are being owed arrears for past supplies.