The House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) have called on security agencies to take action against fuel marketers who are hoarding petrol and increasing prices arbitrarily.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Chairmen of the two committees, Ikenga Ugochinyere and Henry Okojie, highlighted their efforts to address the resurgence of fuel queues across the country. They engaged various stakeholders in the petroleum distribution value chain to find solutions to the situation.
“We have engaged extensively with them to ascertain the cause of the resurgence of the fuel queues in petrol stations across the country,” the statement read.
According to their investigations, there is enough petrol available, with approximately 1.5 billion litres in storage facilities, sufficient for the next 30 days. However, logistical challenges such as transportation difficulties from vessels to onshore and disruptions in supply channels have contributed to the queues.
The committees assured that these logistical issues have been addressed, and the petrol scarcity will soon be resolved.
Expressing concern over economic sabotage, the lawmakers urged security agencies to collaborate with key stakeholders to detect and deal with any acts of hoarding, price hikes, product diversion, and smuggling.
“We appeal to all traders and service providers not to take advantage of this temporary challenge,” they added. “Our people have been through a lot in the last few days, and we must not plunge them into further pains.”
