The Chairman of the Ekiti State Petroleum Products Consumers’ Protection Agency, Hon. Akindele Ogungbuyi has warned that his agency would not hesitate to seal up any filling station caught hoarding or under dispensing petroleum products to consumers in the state.
Ogungbuyi who gave the warning while fielding questions from newsmen in Ado-Ekiti said the his agency was presently monitoring the allocation of petroleum products from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation {NNPC} depot at Ore and the movement of tankers carrying
petroleum products into the state as part of efforts to curb diversion of fuel allocated to the States.
While warning petroleum marketers in the state not to take advantage of the intermittent fuel scarcity being experienced nationwide and the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry to exploit consumers of petroleum products, the PPCPA boss said that it
was inappropriate for petroleum marketers to exploit consumers by selling at exorbitant prices.
He urged vehicle owners and other consumers of petroleum products to shun further panic buying or storing of petrol at home because of the inherent dangers, saying that he could recall instances when the desperation exhibited by consumers had hampered the agency’s
officials from protecting their interest against sharp practices of some unscrupulous petroleum marketers.
Ogungbuyi who lamented the low number of registered petroleum marketers in the state explained that this was responsible for the relatively low volume of petroleum products allocated to the state by the NNPC Depot at Ore.
While assuring that the present fuel scarcity was a temporary problem, the PPCPA Boss said his agency was working in tandem with its counterparts in Osun and other South West states to ameliorate the problem in their various states.
Last modified: September 22, 2012
