Fuel scarcity: NSCDC moves against marketers, hoarding, price hike in Anambra

By MICHAEL OVAT, Awka

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Anambra State Command, has reiterated the corps readiness to apprehend filling station owners who are taking undue advantage of the artificial scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petroleum to hike the price of the product thereby worsening the current situation in the state.

The State Commandant, NSCDC, Commandant Everestus Chimezie Obiyo started after his monitoring tour to fuelling stations in the state.

The tour was geared toward fighting against filling stations dispensing a liter of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) above the recommended pump price.

Obiyo charged members of the public to furnish the command with credible information on the activities of errant marketers, noted that NSCDC was ready to ensure that filling stations with the commodity sell at the government approved price.

“We are ready to fight any fuel hike or boarding of fuel in the state. We are going around the state to monitor every fuelling station. ”

It was gathered that the monitoring of the fueling stations by the Command was in line with the directive of the Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar.

Abubakar directed NSCDC, to deploy personnel mostly Anti-Vandalism Squad to filling stations to maintain orderliness, monitor compliance with government-approved rates as well as stop visible and perceived sharp practices observed during supervision and monitoring of some filling stations in the State.

The Public Relations Officer, NSCDC Anambra State Command, DSC Edwin Okadigbo said the team led by the Head of Anti Vandalism Squad, Assistant Commandant Dennis Reuben visited several filling stations in Awka metropolis, to monitor the compliance of sale of the commodity at the approved price, cautioned them against hiking the price and ensured that the product is sold to motorists instead of hoarding it.

“Besides the astronomical rise in price in some of the filling stations visited, the entourage noticed that most filling stations were shortchanging customers through under – dispensing and product hoarding.

While speaking about his experience during the exercise, ACC Reuben Dennis wondered why operators of filling stations still chose to sabotage the government and inflict pain on consumers.

He warmed erring filling stations that are still selling above the recommended pump price or hoarding the products thereby causing artificial scarcity to revert or risk being arrested and dealt with according to the law. (Nigerian Tribune)