Petrol Scarcity: Delta takes drastic step, sets up monitoring, distribution, pricing team

Following the unabated scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol and its high cost, the Delta State Government on Thursday set up a team to monitor the distribution of the product in other to ensure availability as well as its appropriate pricing across the state.

According to a government special announcement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, the government decided to take measures to monitor the distribution of the petroleum product from the point of delivery by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to the various discharge outlets across the state as a matter of urgency to save Deltans and residents of the state from the stress and strains they are currently going through due to the non-availability of the product.

Members of the monitoring team include the Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Chief Emmanuel Amgbaduba as Chairman, representatives of the Commissioner for Information, the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Army and the Navy.

Other members include representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Tanker Drivers Union, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Rex Anighoro, while the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Oil and Gas will serve as Secretary.

The statement appealed to major marketers of the product to continue to show empathy over the suffering of fellow citizens and to do their utmost best to ensure best practices in product delivery as the present circumstances warrant.

It also expressed the government’s gratitude to Deltans and residents of the state for the resilience they have demonstrated in these trying times, even as it urged that no one should exploit the situation by stirring up violence for selfish gains.