Fuel scarcity: FG sets up c’ttee to ease distribution

…Brokers peace in IPMAN

…Petrol stations run out of products

The federal government has set up a committee to ensure that marketers get petroleum products and sell same at its approved price  nationwide, as part of effort to end fuel scarcity in the country.
The committee will be chaired by Prince I. Dunuje while Engr. Lawson Ngoa will act as its secretary.
The 14-man committee will also reconcile the warring factions within the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and ensure an amicable end to the lingering crises in the association.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who inaugurated the committee, charged the members with the task of doing everything possible “to bring back peace to the association at the national, zonal and depot levels.”
He noted that as critical stakeholders in the downstream sector, the contribution of IPMAN was crucial in the drive to end the prevailing fuel supply situation across the nation.
The minister, who called on all members to see IPMAN as one indivisible entity, also charged them to work with relevant government agencies such as the NNPC, DPR and other stakeholders to ensure that the prevailing fuel scarcity “becomes a thing of the past as quickly as possible.”
The members include Barr Dibu Aderigbibe, Abubakar Maigandi, Danladi Pasali, Hammed Fashola and Dr. Leo Nkememe.
Others are Chukudi Fred Ezinwa, Ben Odjugo, Andrew Ashiga, Igwe Ezekwesili Maduaguna, Dr. Emma Ihedigbo, Comrade M. A. Shettima and Mr Augustine Erhabor.
Members of the committee after a meeting yesterday in Abuja promised to ensure that their members got their products at official ex-depot price so that they could sell at government approved price.
“The minister has assured the committee of quick loading of about 7,000 metre tickets that are outstanding. We appeal to the leaders of IPMAN to seize this opportunity to embrace peace and we urge members to be calm, support this committee and do their business legitimately,” the committee members said in a statement after the meeting.
Speaking shortly after the deliberations with Kachikwu, a member of the committee, Alhaji Danladi Pasali, expressed their readiness to assist the federal government towards bringing a lasting solution to the fuel situation in the country.
He added that IPMAN, which controls a massive chunk of the market share in the nation’s downstream sector, would mandate its stations to operate a 24 hours’ service in order to ease the hardship on Nigerians.
Meanwhile, fuel queues persisted in Abuja metropolis as many fuel stations that had the product to sell some days ago ran out of products.
Some of the stations monitored in the Central Area had queues of motorists waiting but the main gates to the stations were shut, while stations that had fuel to dispense witnessed large crowd of motorists and black marketers.
But at Mobil, Conoil, Eterna and Forte Oil stations all located in Jabi, motorists queued without any of the fuel station officials attending to them.
One of the fuel attendants at Conoil told this reporter that the station had not received products for more than three days.
In the outskirts of Abuja, petrol was available but at higher price of between N180 and N200.
A motorist said he bought at a fuel station in Kubwa at N180 per litre  but declined to name the station.