The House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Downstream and Midstream have asked security agencies to go after oil marketers sabotaging the sector.
The chairpersons of the committees, Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) and Odianosen Okojie (APC, Edo), made the call on Wednesday during a joint briefing in Abuja.
Mr Ugochiyere, who is the chairman of the downstream committee, said the committees had been briefed by marketers and NNPC Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) on the lingering petroleum scarcity.
He noted that the scarcity is just a temporary glitch caused by logistic challenges and further exacerbated by the actions of some unscrupulous marketers who are hoarding petroleum products.
“At this juncture, we strongly frown at the activities of middlemen who have taken advantage of the short disruption of supply to maximise profit and generate an excessive gain for themselves, at the detriment of our people.
“We hereby call on security forces to support the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution value chain, to ensure that such acts of economic sabotage that have to do with hoarding, arbitrary increment in price, product diversion and smuggling are detected and dealt with,” Mr Ugochinyere said.
The lawmaker said the committee will convene to a round of talks with players in the sector to prevent future occurrences.
