Govt/fuel marketers face off: Fayose takes over sites of errant fuel stations

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has personally taken over the sites of some petrol stations in Ado Ekiti, the state capital which flouted the law on location of such ventures in the state.

This is just as some traditional rulers in the state, led by the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe; the Commissioner of Police, Mr Abdullahi Chafe, and other stakeholders in the state have successfully prevailed on the embattled fuel marketers to shelve their strike.

Governor Fayose had, in clamping down on fuel stations sited in unsuitable areas, announced the takeover of some stations under construction, which were found to have violated regulations guiding the siting of the petrol stations in the state.

Governor Fayose was said to have taken the action to “ensure sanity in the way petrol stations are planted in the state and to also prevent possible harm their wrong location could cause the general public in the state.”

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Fayose, Mr Idowu Adelusi, said following this, “Governor Fayose has taken over eight petrol stations still under construction and which have been sited in residential, business and school areas.”

Findings showed that some of the stations already taken over by the governor include those still under construction at Irona, Adebayo and Okeyinmi areas of Ado Ekiti.

The governor insisted that his administration would not succumb to “subtle blackmail” by the marketers and stick to policies aimed at protecting the lives and properties of the people of the state.”

While reacting to the suspension of the strike by marketers, the governor said: “If they like, let them go on with their strike. We won’t compromise standards. We won’t also allow anybody to jeopardize the life and property of our people under the guise of conducting their own businesses. The other time we made our stance known on the herdsmen’s menace, we all saw ‎the results.

“Petrol stations located in residential areas won’t be allowed to function. Some petrol stations under construction in locations not approved will be taken over by the government.”

The governor later visited one of such fuel stations under construction, which is currently being converted to a car park in Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti.

The petrol marketers under the aegis of National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petrol Dealers Association of Nigeria (PEDAN), had announced the suspension of their businesses in the state following the action of the governor, claiming that the governor was calling them names.

Their reopening of their businesses has also eased the tension in the state, which was caused by the scarcity of petroleum products as the filling stations were shut, giving a leeway to black marketers of the products.