The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), on Monday, described the deadline to end scarcity by the Department of State Service,DSS, on petroleum marketers as a mere threat that can’t solve the current problem of fuel scarcity facing the Nigerian masses.
It will be recalled that DSS had last week directed oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to resolve the fuel crisis biting Nigerians, saying failure to comply will make the agency activate its operations across the country.
Make fuel avalable within 48 hrs, DSS directs NNPC, Marketers
DSS Spokesman, Peter Afunanya gave the ultimatum in a statement on Thursday saying that the challenge of fuel scarcity has assumed a dimension that is detrimental to the security of the country.
Speaking on the isdue,PETROAN Chairman, System 2E, Eastern Zone, Sunny Nkpe, while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday said rather than DSS to give the ultimatum to the Oil Marketers what is expected is to detail the secret police to go after the cartel operating among Private Depot Owners(PDO).
He said without doing that, hoarding the essential commodity, fuel scarcity and long queues will persist.
“Let me make it categorically clear here: there is no amount of threat by DSS that is going to change anything. If it must change, they must start from the source; they should go to the private depot operators to find out where for now we are getting products from.
“Until the cartel or cabal in that area is handled or taken care of, we can never get any reduction or fairness in the distribution of the product,”Nkpe said.
He also said there has not been a drop of petrol allocation to the Port Harcourt depot in the last six months.
In his own contribution, former President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, who also joined the conversation virtually alongside Nkpe, said the DSS must have been privy to a vital piece of information within the supply value chain to have issued the ultimatum.
He added that Nigerians need to ask DSS questions on what it must have come up with before, during and after the ultimatum was issued.
“For DSS to come out and issue an ultimatum, the DSS must be privy to some information. Everyone must focus on the DSS to come out with its results within 48 hours or else, DSS may also be a player in the game.
“DSS must tell Nigerians its findings within 48 hours and whoever is behind this should be prosecuted because there are enough products in this country for everybody to get petrol,” he said.
For weeks, vehicle owners especially in Lagos and Abuja have had a tough time getting petrol from filling stations. Whilst many outlets are closed, the few ones that are open sell the indispensable commodity for as high as N250 per litre from the uniform price of N169/litre.
The shortage of supply has led to long queues at the few open filling stations as motorists and business owners jostle to buy fuel while others resort to the black market.
The situation has also contributed to already existing traffic on major roads as vehicle owners block at least one lane to join queues to filling stations.
