From Uche Usim, Abuja
More motorists in Abuja got free petrol yesterday as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) intensified the clampdown on illegal filling stations known for receiving diverted products and selling same to motorists at exorbitant prices, mainly at night.
The move by the Joint Task Force led by the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, was to serve as a deterrent to all culprits hoarding and diverting the product, which has worsened the current scarcity.
In the last 48 hours, seven filling station within Kubwa and Airport roads that are notorious for nocturnal sales were shut and their products dispensed freely to motorists on ground.
Speaking during the raid in Byazhini Community, Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja, which was caught red-handed selling petrol at N250 per litre, the GMD said such stations were being used to divert products meant for legal filling stations and warned all such illegal marketers to desist from being used to sabotage the efforts the government to make fuel available to all Nigerians at the approved price.
“I want to warn marketers that don’t want to heed our advice, especially those operating at night, that the law will catch up them very soon. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have commenced monitoring of such stations. Just yesterday (Tuesday), we identified some defaulting stations and we are going to impound their products and dispense it free to motorists,” Baru stated.
He said about 24 trucks laden with petrol meant for Abuja were diverted to some states in the south eastern part of the country, adding that the defaulting marketers have been identified and would be sanctioned accordingly.
The follow-up raid of illegal filling stations on the Airport Road axis took the team to Bassa Jiwa community behind the Abuja Airport where three errant stations were shut down with products in their storage also dispensed free of charge to motorists.
At one of the stations, McManakai Global Services, the team found 39,000 litres in its storage tank which it was selling to motorists at N240 per litre as against the approved the price of N145 per litre.
The GMD also reiterated the Corporation’s determination to end the artificial scarcity by increasing fuel truck out across the country.
“What we are doing is that we are maximizing the daily truck out to Abuja and other cities. Yesterday, we had about 114 trucks that dispatched products to Abuja as against 70 to 80 trucks earlier received daily. As at Monday, we have loaded about 230 trucks for Abuja. When they arrive and with 24-hour operations in place, we should be able to eliminate most of the queues,” Dr. Baru enthused.
Speaking on the raid on illegal filling stations, the Abuja Zonal Operations Controller of DPR, Mr. Mohammed Abba, said some of the operators of the errant filling stations were earlier directed to revert to N145 but decided to ignore the advice, adding that the NSCDC would arrest and prosecute the perpetrators appropriately.