NNPC Defies Presidential Directive On Kerosene

In spite of the assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) a few months ago, the price of kerosene is still above the official rate of N50.00 per litre in Enugu.

Most retail outlets still sell the product at between N90 and N110 per litre when it is in stock.

Our correspondent reports that that was against a presidential directive to the NNPC to flood Enugu with kerosene to force down price to the official price of N50 a litre.

The Tide source who visited both major marketers’ stations and independent petroleum marketers’ stations in the metropolis on Monday, reports that the product had yet to be made available to them by the NNPC.

Rather what was noticed in most stations was a near total absence of the product or alternatively, bridged products sold at the marketer’s terms.

NNPC mega stations and its affiliates in Enugu do not have the product to sell to the public, daily.

At Total on Nnamdi Azikiwe Road, a litre of kerosene is sold for N90.50 NNPC mega station, New Heaven and Agip Oil, Abakpa had no kerosene to sell to the public as at 10 a.m. The NNPC mega station on Emene Road sold a litre of kerosene at N95 contrary to the official price.

A Locuzade bottle size of kerosene is now being sold for N120 according to NAN’s investigation.

Reacting to the development, some civil servants in Enugu said that the price hike in the sale of the product had put a strain on their pockets.

One of them, Mr Emeka Izede, called on the NNPC authorities to take the presidential directives more seriously to ease the untold hardship ordinary Nigerians went through .

Izede said that he saw no reason why the General Manager of the NNPC Corporate Affairs, Dr Livy Ajuonuma would come on air to make an empty promise to saturate the whole of Nigeria with kerosene.

He said that it amounted to deception at the highest level or that he took Nigerians for a ride.

A roadside plantain seller, Mama Nkechi, however, said that she had confidence in the administration of President Good luck Jonathan that he would eventually deliver.