By Habibat Aliu
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal Government, through the management of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA, to revoke the license of oil marketers causing artificial scarcity and petrol price hike.
PENGASSAN called on NMDPRA to mobilise all their staff across the country to monitor compliance, stating that anyone found wanting should have their license revoked to serve as deterrent.
In a statement yesterday, PENGASSAN warned that should the collusion go on unchecked, the union would not hesitate to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians are not further exploited.
President and Secretary General of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo and Lumumba Okugbawa, who in the statement, empathised with Nigerians on the hardship currently faced with the scarcity and drastic hike in the price of petrol, urged NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at approved price.
The union said it has been following up with its members in NNPC Trading Limited, who are responsible for assigning the products to marketers and 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 and record keeping on the need to carry out their functions expeditiously.
According to PENGASSAN “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.”
