Fuel scarcity: Reps ask security agencies to clamp down on hoarders

The joint House of Representatives, on Wednesday, called on Security Agencies to clamp down on economic saboteurs who hoard premium motor spirit (PMS) thereby contributing to the lingering scarcity of the product across the country.

Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere gave the charge during a press briefing in Abuja, however disclosed NNPCL has storage of over 1.5 billion litres which can last for over 30 days.

Hon.Ugochinyere, who stated this at joint press briefing with the chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Midstream), Hon. Henry Okojie, noted that an investigation carried out by the joint Committees that availability of fuel in filling stations has been hampered by logistics challenges.

According to him, the parliament has received assurance from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and other stakeholders on the availability of fuel in various depots.

While expressing displeasure over the lingering crisis, the lawmakers however blamed the middlemen for taking undue advantage of the disruption in the supply of PMS to engage in arbitrary increases of the product.

He said: “We strongly frown at the activities of middlemen who have taken advantage of the short disruption of supply, to maximize profit and generate an inordinate gain for themselves, at the detriment of our people.

“We hereby call on Security Forces to support the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution value chain, so as to ensure that such acts of economic sabotage that has to do with hoarding, arbitrary increment in price, products diversion and smuggling are detected and dealt with.

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“Our people have been through a lot in the last few days and we must not plunge them into further pains. We appeal to all traders and those rendering services, not to unduly take advantage of this temporary challenge, which will be cleared in the next few day.

“As at today, the reports we are getting suggest that the fuel queues have started reducing and products have started arriving the petrol stations. We urge Nigerians not to engage in panic buying, nor be enmeshed in an unnecessary rush to buy products.

“As a country, we have a storage of over 1.5 billion litres which can last us for over 30 days. More products are arriving and more products are on the high sea. The challenge that caused this disruption was the logistics issue that had to with the marine shuttle vessels, which was to move products to marketers, who are on standby waiting to serve the people. The logistic issues have now been resolved and hopefully, supply to stations will increase in few days. ”

Furthermore, the lawmaker said the House, in the discharge of its oversight function, shall probe the reason for the current fuel scarcity to avoid a reoccurrence

” We have resolved that going forward and in order to avert a recurrence of this temporary challenge of distribution disruption which have attendant economic pains and spiral effect on the general welfare of our people, we shall investigate the remote and immediate causes of the temporary disruption.

“We shall work with the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution chain, towards finding a sustainable solution in ensuring that we do not run into such avoidable disruption in the near future, which can hamper economic activities”.

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