NUPENG Tasks FG On Petrol Scarcity

The National Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Eastern Zone has called on the Federal Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the current scarcity of Petroleum Products in the country is resolved.
Chairman of NUPENG, Eastern Zone, Comrade Godwin Eruba who made the call in Port Harcourt in an interview with newsmen urged the government to look into allegations of non-issuance of licenses to marketers to enable them import the products into the country.
The NUPENG boss said, “If actually it is as a result of not issuing licenses to importers, let the federal government speed up the processes and issue licenses to the importers so that the situation could be brought back to normalcy.
He expressed dismay at the long queues at the filling stations and the sufferings associated with it being faced by Nigerians and maintained that the government should treat the situation with all urgency.
Eruba explained that with the current scarcity pushing the pump price from N97 to N140 per litre, the essence and aim of the deregulation has been defeated.
The rise in the pump price, he stressed is unacceptable to the union and remarked that the products being imported were already being subsidized and that with the current scarcity it has set Nigerians back to where they were as the price per litre has gone far above the official pump price.
Meanwhile, there is an improvement in the fuel scarcity situation in Port Harcourt city as more filling stations have supply and were selling to customers.
Our correspondent who monitored the situation over the weekend said though the long queues have not gone off the stations, more of the filling stations were selling.
But The Tide gathered that some of the filling stations were adjusting their pumps while some were selling above the official pump price of N97.
“You’ll go to some filling stations to buy fuel but, my brother, before you ply for few hours, the fuel is finished”, a taxi driver who said he suspected fraudulent adjustment of pump metres.

Chris Oluoh