Fuel Scarcity: Arewa Youths Demand Sack Of Minister, Others

Faced with persistent fuel scarcity and the associated hardships, the Amalgamation of Arewa Youths Groups (AAYG) has called for the investigation and sack of the minister of state for petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Malam Mele Kyari, and the managing director of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.

AAYG claims membership of 225 socio-cultural and religious groups.

At a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, its secretary, Abubakar Musa Ardo, and spokesperson, Victor Duniya, said during the previous scarcity early this year, both the NNPC and NMDPRA accused some importers of importing high methanolic contaminated Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) with the promise to bring the said companies to justice. Musa lamented that till date, nobody has been punished for “inflicting pains on Nigerians.”

The group said Nigerians are currently battling with the excruciating pains of fuel scarcity, the situation which has remained like this in the significant part of 2022, with no end at sight.

The group claimed that where one managed to get a little of the product, it would be sold at a higher rate.

It added, “As critical stakeholders in the Nigeria building project, we can’t continue to fold our hands and allow things degenerate to point of no return. There is no justification for this scarcity amidst abundant blessings of crude oil in most parts of country that is both tapped and untapped”.

“While Farouk and his boys are sleeping or inactive, Independent Petroleum M+arketers are selling PMS in most Northern states as high as N250. This is against the National benchmark and highly subsidized rate of N165.

“We call on Mr President to wield the big stick on the trio of Mr Timipre Silver, minister of state for Petroleum; Mele Kyari GMD, NNPC LTD and Farouk Ahmed, MD NMDPRA for clear act of sabotage and an attempt to pit Nigerians against him.

“We call on the National Assembly to urgently probe the subsidy regime and compare notes with previous years to dictate the rigged figure by both the NNPC and NMDPRA, and ensure that all those concerns are punished.

“We call on anti-graft agencies to probe the activities of the staff of NMDPRA for possible collusion with Independent Petroleum Marketers to financially rape the federal government and Nigerians, as PMS now sells far above the national bench mark.”

“If our demands are not met in the next five working days, we shall organise our members from towns and villages to occupy all NNPC zonal offices and its subsidiaries across our region and the FCT until we see changes.

“This is not just a mere threat. We will follow up with full action after the expiration of our ultimatum and this will serve as a litmus test on the part of the government on their fight against corruption and indiscipline.”