Business
Fuel Price Hike: PH Residents Seek RSG’s Intervention
Some residents of Port
Harcourt are calling on the Rivers State Government to set up a task force to monitor petrol filling stations in the state as a way of ensuring that they sell according to the official pump price.
Some of the residents who spoke to our correspondent considered it a failure on the part of the Federal Government agency in charge of monitoring the distribution and sale of the product in view of continued disregard to government regulation.
Chief Maclean Thompson said, “for over five months, filling stations and the petroleum marketers have remain lawless choosing to sell products far above the official pump price and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has not been able to do its role as Nigerian masses have continued to pay almost double the cost of the product?
Thompson appealed to the Rivers State Governor, to protect the masses who were being held to ransome by the petroleum marketers by setting up a task force to ensure the products were sold to members of the public according to government regulated prices.
Another respondent, Emeka Ihedinonu, also described the lawless in the implementation of the pump price as a failure on the part of the government.
“How can the Federal Government, give its official directive and also watch marketers flout it and no action is taken”.
He accused DPR of conniving with the marketers against the masses and appealed to Rivers State Government to protect both the law and the masses in the hands of the marketers who he said have hijacked the system.
Also speaking, Charity Melford, a secondary school teacher said, “it baffles me that government would just watch her citizens continue to suffer in the hands of few persons who have constituted themselves against us all.
“I think this is an obvious failure on the part of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration suggest that DPR be probed as to know whose interest, it is protecting and whose interest its staff stand to serve.
She called on the Federal Government to save the masses by ensuring that petroleum products were being sold according to the official price.
However, the acting spokesman of DPR Port Harcourt zone, Prince Oshodi, told The Tide that the agency was working hard to ensure that marketers adhere to the directive of the government.
Oshodi, said the agency had sealed some filling stations and would continue to work towards enforcing the new price.
He urged members of the public to give useful information to the agency on any station selling above the official pump price of N86.50 per litre.
Chris Oluoh
Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.
Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.
The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.
Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.
“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.
“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”
Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.
In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.
Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.
Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.
