EFCC, DSS join fight to end fuel scarcity

The Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of States Services (DSS) would assist it in curbing fuel scarcity in the country.

Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, PPMC’s managing director, disclosed this in an interview with CNBCAfrica on Tuesday.

Ogbue alleged that some marketers prefer diverting trucks of petrol to places where they can sell higher than the approved prices.

“For instance this morning, we have been in Suleja, one of our distribution hubs, to march trucks, because what we are seeing is that trucks are being diverted, people prefer to go to the interland, where they are going to sell product much higher that the approved price,” she said.

“We have heard of funny and sharp practices in the depot, where there are alternative accounts being opened outside the approved price of N77.66 at the depots.

“What we’ve also done is to call in the security agents, we’ve talked to DSS, EFCC and said that this is a national sabotage and we cannot continue to have this going on, this is a distortion of the economy.”

In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, Ohi Alegbe, NNPC’s group general manager, public affairs division, corroborated Ogbue, saying the security outfits would help them curb hoarding and consequently scarcity.

Babatunde Adeniran, group executive director commercial and investment of NNPC, was quoted as saying any marketer caught hoarding, would be sanctioned.

“Any marketer found wanting in the sale of petroleum products, including the NNPC retail outlets would be sanctioned appropriately,” the statement read.

“There will be no sacred cows as the corporation is working round the clock by supplying sufficient petroleum products to marketers to ensure that Nigerians enjoy a yuletide season without pain.

“We must all make sure that petroleum products get across to Nigerians at the regulated price, especially as the yuletide season approaches.

“We have enough products and we want to plead with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) not to be involved in the diversion of petroleum products in order to avoid causing untold hardship to motorists.”

Ogbue also revealed that PPMC has been supplying at 109 percent in order to end scarcity of the products in the country.