The Federal
Government has ordered security agencies to arrest petroleum marketers who
purposely hoard products to create the artificial scarcity currently being
experienced.
This is even
as oil marketers have been warned to desist from hoarding the product or risk
being arrested by industry regulators who have been detailed for enforcement.
The order
was disclosed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in a
statemnet issued on Monday in Abuja.
NNPC
spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, who signed the statement said that the warning
followed the uncovering of 144 oil tankers filled with petroleum products in
Kano.
According to
him, government has intervened in an industrial action embarked upon by the
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over
labour disputes with NECONDE Energy Services Ltd.
“NNPC warns
marketers not to hoard products as law enforcement agencies, working with
industry regulators, have been detailed to take appropriate measures against
any defaulter.
“The
Corporation further assures that there are enough petroleum products to keep
the nation wet,” Ughamadu said.
He urged
motorists and other consumers of
petroleum products to resist the temptation to go into panic buying.
“NNPC wishes
to state that relevant government agencies are in consultation with industrial
unions to arrive at an amicable resolution of issues over which there are
threats of industrial action,” he said.
The Federal
Government has also waded into the matter, appealing to leaders of PENGASSAN to
shelve its strike over the sack of workers by NECONDE Energy Services Ltd.
The News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent reports that queues, which eased some
days back, have now returned at fuel stations in the Federal Capital Territory.
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