Motor mechanics in Warri, Delta, have decried what they say is a significant drop in patronage for their services. The mechanics spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday. They attributed the development to the increases in the petroleum pump prices.
The artisans said it was unfortunate that fewer vehicles were now on the roads compare to the past, adding that this meant fewer vehicles breaking down.
A self-acclaimed Japanese car specialist, Mr Desmond Ojo, said that he hardly get three cars to repair in a day. “We are suffering. Before now I use to have cars lined up waiting for repair in my workshop.
“But now, you can see that the whole workshop is empty. Nobody is coming to repair motor because many people hardly drive nowadays,” he said.
Mr Ernest Ehigie, another mechanic also told journalists that the situation was biting harder on their trade. According to him, no motor mechanic can boast of making good returns nowadays because of the low patronage.
“We are just managing to survive the current situation in the country hoping that things will become better again. Before now, we use to smile daily because we always have enough vehicles to repair. Nowadays, sometimes, I can barely get a car to repair in a day,” he said.
In the same vein, Mr Efe Odeya attributed the low patronage to the inability of car owners to drive their vehicles due to the high cost of fuel. “It is only when you have money that you will drive cars nowadays and if you don’t drive, the car will not develop fault so you wouldn’t need to repair it’’ Odeya said.
Odeya said many car owners had resolved to park their cars and take to public transportation to cut costs.
Mr Friday Tejiri appealed to the Federal Government to do the needful and workout modalities to effectively cushion the impact of the subsidy removal on the citizenry.
According to him, the initiative will help to ease the prevailing economic crisis in the country.
“People are suffering. My colleague is an automobile painter. He has been idle in the past three weeks, no job and he has a family,” he said.
NAN reports that prices of fuel pump ranges from N1,150 to N1,300 per litre in some of the retail outlets in the Warri metropolis
