By Our Reporter
November 17, 2015 – In a spirited effort to end the noticeable fuel queues in major cities across the country, the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Tuesday gave the marching orders to the Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR) to ensure strict compliance by visiting adequate sanctions on defaulting fuel stations across the country.
Speaking after a working visit to some retail outlets in Abuja, Dr. Kachikwu directed the DPR to ensure that any petrol station caught in the nefarious act of product hoarding, should have such concealed products sold off to members of the public gratis.
“I have instructed DPR that if they discover any fuel station involved in hoarding, they should sell the products for free to customers around there. It is not just sealing the station that is the answer. It is penalizing them when they do these things and I hope the message goes out loud and clear,” he said.
The Minister who is billed to host strategy session with the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) as well as Jetty and Tank Farm Owners Associations as well as all other relevant stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday, charged oil marketers across the country to cooperate with government to ensure speedy clearance of the fuel queues.
“I am getting all the Majors to get involved and they must take charge of the situation and they must take responsibility for all their filling stations. Currently, there is enough supply and we are moving trucks massively to address the situation. I have instructed the DPR and the Petroleum Equalization Fund and all the other agencies to work towards the Fast track movement of petrol bearing trucks and vessels,’’ Dr. Kachikwu stated.
On the approved payment of N413 billion subsidy claims to marketers, he reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari has transmitted a letter to the National Assembly for the legislative approval of the subsidy claims, noting that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will make the funds available to the marketers once appropriated by the National Assembly.
The Minister also said there is no price reduction of petrol in the horizon and that marketers should desist from hoarding by making the products available to the motorists.
Meanwhile figures from the daily dispatch of petrol to depots across the country indicate that 38, 277, 955, 00 (Thirty Eight Million, Two Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand and Nine Hundred and Fifty Five Litres of petrol was dispatched by PPMC across the country on 16th November, 2015. (See attached table).
