The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has urged the federal government to pay oil marketers the first tranche of N236 billion arrears, to avoid looming strike and scarcity of petroleum products.
This is coming four days away from the Friday, December 14, 2018 ultimatum given by the marketers to the federal government, to either pay or risk total strike.
The chairman of the Committee, Joseph Akinlaja (ZLP, Ondo), who made the appeal yesterday while briefing newsmen in Abuja, said paying the marketers would make petrol available and eliminate all forms of tensions in the yuletide.
He said the Committee’s initial worry that there might be fuel scarcity during the Christmas season has been doused by “concrete and verifiable assurances” from officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The lawmaker, however, expressed concern on the need for effective and efficient distribution chain, to ensure that Nigerians have access to petroleum products at reasonable quantity and quality, as well as affordable price.
“We went to NNPC on an oversight, and they assured us that there is sufficient fuel in stock and incoming cargos on the seas. We saw signs, and we believed them. Our anxiety now is that government is owing the marketers.
“We therefore appeal to the government to pay them the first tranche of N236 billion arrears as agreed, to avoid any possibility of strike or scarcity in the yuletide.
“We also appeal to both parties to respect the accord as the ultimatum expires this Friday,” Akinlaja told newsmen on behalf of other members of the Committee.
It would be recalled that the issue of government indebtedness to the oil marketers in the petroleum downstream sector has lingered for over three years now.
However, to prevent the marketers from going on strike, the government reached an understanding with them last week, promising to pay the first tranche of N236 billion before the December 14 ultimatum given by the marketers.
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