Hon. Dakuku Peterside, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream has described the lingering kerosene crisis across the country as a national embarrassment,
He made the statement in Calabar in continuation of his committee’s oversight visit to Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC and private oil facilities in the Port Harcourt area.
Peterside who spoke with officials of PPMC, marketers, retailers and consumers of DPK said this kerosene scarcity is not only an embarrassment but a denial of basic rights of ordinary Nigerians who bear the brunt of national challenges such as this.
“This scarcity is a national embarrassment and with every reported scarcity in any part of the country, we feel diminished as a people. Therefore we must address it because it is unacceptable. Our people should not suffer, there is no reason to suffer in the midst of plenty.  For me, the big question is: where is DPK disappearing to despite huge importation by government”, Peterside queried.
In the Chairman’s view therefore, the availability of Kerosene should be taken for granted by Nigerians, particularly those in the low income cadre who have suffered this unusually long crisis period.
However, Peterside commended the management and staff of North-West Petroleum and Gas Company for making kerosene available by going the extra mile. He urged the company to sustain this service which has greatly reduced the burden of sourcing the product in Calabar metropolis and beyond. He also visited North-West mega station in Calabar, where he interacted with consumers of the product who had formed long queues at the filling station prior to his arrival.
At Calabar office of PPMC, independent marketers spoke through their chairman, Michael Udofia. According to them, kerosene is only available in private depots and they are bought at very exorbitant price. And this is why it is difficult to sell at government approved prices to end users.
Peterside later addressed retailers who came to protest to members of his committee about the worsening situation in Calabar and its environs. He assured them that the nation’s legislature cannot afford to look the other way while Nigerians suffer. “We are going to urgently set up a sub-committee to address this issue, I can assure you”, he said. The chairman also promised that his committee would look into the catalogue of challenges facing operators in the sector.
The House Committee on Petroleum, Downstream also visited Calabar Free Trade Zone. While addressing management and staff of the free zone, Peterside stressed the need for Nigerians to take interest in manufacturing since this is the only way of accelerating our nation’s economic growth.
The chairman and members of his committee had earlier paid a courtesy call on Senator Liyel Imoke, governor of Cross River State who commended the committee for its efforts in addressing challenges in the downstream sector of our economy.