As Nigerians continue to suffer the hike in petroleum product, and also the scarcity of the product, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to compel marketers to make the product available at acceptable price.
It also urged the authority to send its members out to monitor compliance and have the license of defaulters revoked.
PENFASSAN, in a statement signed by the President, Festus Osifo, and the secretary general, Lumumba Okagbawa in Abuja, said there was no basis for fuel hike in the country.
The statement reads: “PENGASSAN empathizes with Nigerians on the hardship currently faced with the scarcity and drastic hike in the price of PMS.
“The national leadership of PENGASSAN has been following up with our members in NNPC Trading Limited lwho are responsible for assigning the products to marketers and our teaming members from NMDPRA in various depots and terminals across the country that are responsible for issuing cargo clearance, monitoring compliance, routing inspection, metering calibration/maintenance, accurate delivery to trucks, record keeping, etc. on the need to carry out their functions expeditiously.
“While we understand that the parameters imputed into the old PPPRA and now NMDPRA template has since changed because of some economic vagaries such as exchange rate fluctuation, vessel hiring cost and cost of AGO amongst others, there is no sufficient justification for PMS (Petrol) to be selling for such highly inflated price, thereby subjecting the masses to further difficulties.
“Even though we have some good marketers who tend to play by the rules, others who are overbearing have deployed methods of creating artificial scarcities in other to hike the price of the product uncontrollably as the prices of the product now sells between N185 to N650 depending on your location and outlet.
“From data available to us from our members, there is over 30 days PMS sufficiency in the country; hence there is no basis for the current scarcity and hardship that Nigerians are being subjected to.
“We hereby call on the management of NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at approved price.
“They should immediately mobilize all their staff in various locations across the country to monitor compliance and anyone found wanting, should have their license revoked to serve as deterrent.
“Should this collusion go on unchecked, we will not hesitate to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians are not further exploited.
A stitch in time saves nine.
However, The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has studied the grievances expressed by protesters as stated in the letter addressed to him on the issue.
The government acknowledges the plight of the Edo people who have had to endure gruelling experiences accessing petroleum products as well as the exorbitant prices the product is sold for in the State in the last few days.
On account of that, the government is undertaking the following actions within the next 24 hours:
- Set up a Monitoring Committee made up of actors in the private sector, civil society organisations and government, who will monitor the distribution and pricing of the product in order to ensure that shylock marketers do not take advantage of the situation to rip Edo citizens off.
- Schedule a meeting with all stakeholders in the product distribution value chain to deliberate on the issues responsible for distribution hurdles and price hike and find lasting solutions to the matters arising.
The government thanks all Edo people for being law-abiding and also appreciates the protesters for being peaceful even as we work with all concerned to ease the situation and build a progressive State together.
