With respect to the fuel scarcity which has led to a serious hike in fuel price, NNPC’s spokesperson, Garba-Deen Muhammad, has called for patience from Nigerians.
He said, “Every possible measure that is to be taken is being taken. Our top management and other staff are (working) round the clock to ensure the return to normalcy. Be patient. The queues will abate very soon.”
Muhammad had told our correspondent that a technical committee had been set up to look into the recall of the contaminated products and how they would be managed.
He said, “The first thing is to ensure that it is recalled and not in circulation. There are various ways of handling this kind of product, we will leave that to the technical committee that has been set up.
“This committee is drawn from MOMAN, DAPPMAN, downstream regulator, NNPC, and all stakeholders. They all have technical people and know the best way to handle this kind of product.”
The imports of adulterated petrol into Nigeria had triggered widespread concerns among government officials and players in the downstream oil sector, as it resulted in PMS scarcity across the country.
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NSCDC boss warns petrol stations against hoarding
As the scarcity of fuel bites harder in parts of the country, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has warned oil marketers not to exploit the situation to cause artificial scarcity of fuel in the country.
The Kwara State Commandant, NSCDC, Makinde Iskil, who gave the warning during an assessment of petrol stations in Ilorin, the state capital, on Sunday, also warned dealers not to use the opportunity to hike the price.
Makinde said the corps would not hesitate to seal any erring filling station and prosecute the owners if found to be involved in any of the criminal activities.
Represented by the Head, Kwara State NSCDC Anti Vandal Unit, Yusuf Ayinde, the commandant read the riot act to stations who reportedly refuse to sell PMS or were selling the product above the recommended pump price of N165.
“Based on intelligence reports made available to us, some filling stations have been alleged of selling PMS as high as N175 and N250 per litre which is above the recommended pump price of N165 per litre and that is why the commandant ordered the on the spot assessment of the situation at some stations.
The spokesman for NSCDC in the state, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed in a statement that “some petrol stations were caught selling fuel over the approved price; they were ordered to revert to the normal price.”
Afolabi said some of the filling stations visited by the team included the NNPC filling station at Surulere area, Topland and Demo filling stations at Amilegbe, Total Comfort Oilfield at Ita Amon, among others in the Ilorin metropolis. He said that the exercise would continue on Monday.