It’s been over a week that motorists particularly in Abuja were greeted with fuel queues as many petrol stations were dispensing below capacity.
The NNPC had earlier in a press statement assured Nigerians of the availability of product and hinging the problem on the low loadout owing to the festive period. They however reiterated that normalcy will be restored in a few days.
A week went by with the queues still visible. The Reporters News through her undercover agents on May 15th, embarked on a fact-finding that mission as to ascertain the true position of product availability and revelations showed an organized effort by most retailers to only sell PMS at night to black marketers while they dispense at minimal capacity during the day.
We reached out to NNPC with our findings for them to make corrective measures and the team was told that the Corporation was in the know of sharp practices from marketers and assured of an intervention.
Many news outlets broke the news of the GMD NNPC- Mallam Mele Kyari, the MD PPMC – Isiyaku Abdullahi and some members of the Management team to have embarked on an unscheduled tour of PMS stations in Abuja.
Today, May 16th, much to the amazement of motorists, normalcy had been restored at most stations in the FCT in the early hours of the day.
The tour was the magic because many were said to have been caught unawares with the visit. Most importantly, marketers have adjusted to being rational thereby coming clean in PMS sale.
In a voxpop with Mr Akindele Adeleye – a cab driver – he revealed to The Reporters that, he believes “marketers are in a gang-up to sabotage the effort of government and the NNPC especially with elections around the corner”. He added that “This is just politics”.
It is best for the NNPC and its subsidiaries to provide for a standards monitoring team that will ensure effective service delivery when there seems to be breach and also sanction erring marketers to deter others.Sani writes from Abuja
PMS queues: Kyari, Isyaku tour to the rescue
