Akwa Ibom Task Force Begins Crackdown On Oil Thieves

The Petroleum Industry Task Force (PITF) inaugurated by Governor Umo Eno, to check the menace of oil sector buccaneers in Akwa Ibom State has started clamping down on perpetrators of unwholesome practices in the sector, LEADERSHIP learnt yesterday.

The Petroleum Products Monitoring Committee (PPMC) led by the chairman, Godwin Ekpo, conducted surveillance operations at some Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) – designated petrol stations in the metropolis of Uyo, the state capital.

Ekpo, a former House of Assembly member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, said the operation followed a series of unwholesome practices, including the diversions of subsidised petroleum products to some illegal and private-owned stations.

“We are determined to protect consumers and maintain the integrity of the fuel distribution network,” Ekpo, assured, and warned those in the habit of perpetrating frauds in the sector to desist or risk prosecution when apprehended by the long arm of the law.

He disclosed that during the inspection, the team uncovered instances of fuel diversion and took swift action.

“We found out that some marketers were diverting products meant for subsidised sale to private stations,”  Ekpo, said.

Describing the sleazy business in the sector as constituting economic sabotage, Ekpo, warned that “the diversion undermines the government’s efforts to mitigate high petroleum prices,” and urged members of the civil society to report such illegal practices to the committee or security agencies for prompt intervention.

He reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to enforcing the petroleum sector regulations to the letter in order to stem the menace which has combined with other extraneous factors to raise the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to an all-time high of N1,300/litre in one of the major oil producing states in the Niger Delta region.