AbdulRazaq, Adeleke threaten to revoke erring fuel stations’ land titles 

Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman and Kwara state governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Tuesday, threatened to revoke the certificate of occupancy (Cof O) of any fuel station found to be hoarding fuel in the state.

Blueprint observed that most filling stations, especially those owned by the independent marketers, had since Monday afternoon stopped dispensing fuel to motorists in Ilorin, the state capital, following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

At the few filling stations dispensing the product in Ilorin, there were long queues as motorists spent hours to get their vehicles fueled.

A statement signed by the governor’s chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, Tuesday, said the governor was concerned about the news of sudden fuel scarcity in various parts of the state.

He cautioned oil marketers against imposing needless hardship on the citizens through creation of artificial fuel scarcity in the state and beyond.

The governor said “creating artificial scarcity amounts to intentional misrepresentation of the statement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on the question of fuel subsidy. The people should not be made to undergo any hardship.” 

In a related development, the Osun state government has threatened that any fuel station found guilty of hoarding fuel to create artificial scarcity will be sealed off.

A statement issued by Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Tuesday, said operators of any station found guilty would be prosecuted for economic sabotage.

Noting that the attention of the government has been drawn to the deliberate hoarding of PMS by the fuel dealers within the state as a result of the statement from the inaugural speech of President Bola Tinubu on the removal of fuel subsidy, the government warned that the hoarding has caused unnecessary hardship for the people in the state.

“This deliberate action is not only inhumane but unpatriotic and will not be allowed by the government. To this end, the special monitoring team on fuel scarcity set up by His Excellency, Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke headed by the Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Akinleye is still effective and shall not condone any form of economic sabotage. 

“The committee shall begin special monitoring of all the filling stations across the state in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders,” the statement added.

About Umar Bayo Abdulwahab Ilorin and Lateef Ibrahim, Osogbo

View all posts by Umar Bayo Abdulwahab Ilorin and Lateef Ibrahim, Osogbo →