Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, has expressed concerns about the crisis in the petroleum sector which has led to the rising cost of petroleum products in the state.
Checks by LEADERSHIP Friday yesterday revealed that the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) hovers between N850 and N900 at most filling stations and between N1,000 and N1,100 at the parallel (black) market.
The price of kerosene used for domestic cooking is sky-high. It sells at N2 000 a litre at filling stations and N2,500 a litre at the parallel or black market, forcing homes and restaurants to resort to cooking gas at the prevailing price range of between N1,350 and N1,500 a kilo, depending on the location in Uyo, the state capital.
Worried by the problem which has exacerbated the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest, the governor has announced some reforms measures aimed at stamping out unwholesome practices in the sector.
To instill sanity in the management of petroleum products and seamless distribution in the state, the governor had relieved the state’s chairman of the Natural Oil and Gas Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), Mr Sam Osung, who doubles as one of his media aides, of his appointment.
Osung, it was gathered, got the boot, following his adamant stance in alliance with the leadership of the other oil sector regulatory associations in resolving the intermittent fuel crisis in state.
Other moves by the governor to stabilise the oil sector in the state, is the reappointment of Sir Victor Etefia, as his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Petroleum Matters.
Etefia’s reappointment was announced by the governor while responding to suggestions made by key stakeholders at a critical meeting held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, to discuss the ongoing nationwide #End BadGovernance protest, with the key mandate of setting up a petroleum taskforce.
“He will work with the commissioner in – charge of Internal Security, retired General Koko Essien, to set up within seven days, a Petroleum Taskforce”, he charged.
At the meeting, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Sunny James, pointed out that oil marketers were diversioning petrol and other petroleum products meant for the state.
According to Sunny James, only the NNPC station on the Itam axis dispensed petrol to customers as a major oil marketer in Uyo, the state capital, with long queues stretching several metres away.
According to him, findings revealed that 22 trucks laden with fuel meant for Akwa Ibom State were diverted by oil marketers. The NLC chairman also wondered why the NNPC stations that sell petrol for N595 per liter do not have a steady supply of product as compared to other marketers who sell petrol for N850 per litre with a constant supply.
Comrade James lamented that as an oil producing state, Akwa Ibom could not boast of having either a Tank farm or a depot.
Responding, the governor recalled that the immediate past administration had opened talks with the NNPCL on setting up a petroleum depot and giving it land to fast-track the process.
“We gave them land and we are still talking with them. They were to pay compensation on that land. I saw the General Manager (GM) of the NNPC Ltd, he said they are almost there”, he assured.
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