Reps summon three fuel marketers in Ondo for ‘overpricing’

The House of Representatives has summoned three fuel marketers
in Ondo State for allegedly selling petroleum above the official
price.

Chairman of the House Committee of Petroleum Resources Chief
Joseph Akinlaja spoke yesterday after monitoring sale of the
products in Akure, the capital, and its environs.

Akinlaja, who is the former secretary-general of the National
Union of Petroleum Employees Association of Nigeria (NUPENG), was
on the tour to see the effect of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or
petrol, scarcity in Nigeria.

The lawmaker regretted the attitude of some Independent
Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) members, who he
said sold fuel above the official price, thus causing hardship.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) and Pipeline Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) have
assured that there will be abundant supply for the Yuletide
celebration.

Akinlaja, who is representing Ondo East/Ondo West , said House
of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara implored members to
suspend their recess to resolve the fuel scarcity logjam.

The monitoring team met a long queue at Bovas filling station,
which was selling at N143 per litre, while few people at Samfunk,
Lao, Damarofek filling stations sold at N220 per litre.

But they displayed official pump price of N145.

The committee chairman ordered the filling stations to sell
petrol at N145 per litre to customers, who filled up the stations
following the mandatory order by a special task force on the
product’s scarcity.

The lawmaker said the monitoring was aimed at having first-hand
knowledge of the situation, saying: “When NNPC will be telling me
there is fuel in abundance, I will ask: why the queue?”

He wondered why Bovas sold petrol at N143 per litre and another
filling station that was less than N500 metres away sold at
N220.

The Ondo State-born Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker
frowned at the disparity and the excuses by independent
marketers.

He said: “I am going to summon them. By this medium, I am
summoning the owner of Samfunk Petroleum and Damarofek to Abuja on
Wednesday to state why they should be selling petrol at N220 per
litre.

“If they don’t come, the law will take its course. We are also
asking Bayduck to report in Abuja on Wednesday at the House of
Representatives with documents on the source and why it was selling
above the official pump price.”

Akinlaja said the sources where the filling stations got their
product would also be summoned to know if they were selling at
prices higher than N133.28.

He added that “the country must be sanitised, as we are the
enemies of ourselves”.

The House of Representatives has summoned three fuel marketers
in Ondo State for allegedly selling petroleum above the official
price.

Chairman of the House Committee of Petroleum Resources Chief
Joseph Akinlaja spoke yesterday after monitoring sale of the
products in Akure, the capital, and its environs.

Akinlaja, who is the former secretary-general of the National
Union of Petroleum Employees Association of Nigeria (NUPENG), was
on the tour to see the effect of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or
petrol, scarcity in Nigeria.

The lawmaker regretted the attitude of some Independent
Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) members, who he
said sold fuel above the official price, thus causing hardship.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) and Pipeline Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) have
assured that there will be abundant supply for the Yuletide
celebration.

Akinlaja, who is representing Ondo East/Ondo West , said House
of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara implored members to
suspend their recess to resolve the fuel scarcity logjam.

The monitoring team met a long queue at Bovas filling station,
which was selling at N143 per litre, while few people at Samfunk,
Lao, Damarofek filling stations sold at N220 per litre.

But they displayed official pump price of N145.

The committee chairman ordered the filling stations to sell
petrol at N145 per litre to customers, who filled up the stations
following the mandatory order by a special task force on the
product’s scarcity.

The lawmaker said the monitoring was aimed at having first-hand
knowledge of the situation, saying: “When NNPC will be telling me
there is fuel in abundance, I will ask: why the queue?”

He wondered why Bovas sold petrol at N143 per litre and another
filling station that was less than N500 metres away sold at
N220.

The Ondo State-born Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker
frowned at the disparity and the excuses by independent
marketers.

He said: “I am going to summon them. By this medium, I am
summoning the owner of Samfunk Petroleum and Damarofek to Abuja on
Wednesday to state why they should be selling petrol at N220 per
litre.

“If they don’t come, the law will take its course. We are also
asking Bayduck to report in Abuja on Wednesday at the House of
Representatives with documents on the source and why it was selling
above the official pump price.”

Akinlaja said the sources where the filling stations got their
product would also be summoned to know if they were selling at
prices higher than N133.28.

He added that “the country must be sanitised, as we are the
enemies of ourselves”.