APC Support Group Accuses Marketers Of Hoarding Petrol, Demands Govt Sanctions
Against the backdrop of the resurgence of petrol scarcity in many parts of the country, the confederation of All Progressives Congress (APC) support groups, has accused petroleum marketers of deliberately sabotaging efforts of the federal government by hoarding the product due to the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna on Saturday, the director general of the group, Professor Muhammad Kailani, alleged that the marketers have devised a cunning strategy to defraud and inflict hardship on the citizenry by claiming to be out of stock of petrol whereas their tanks are filled with the product.
He called on the relevant authorities to fish out those marketers behind what he termed ‘manufactured fuel scarcity’ and sanction them accordingly.
Kailani said, “Truly speaking, if you look at fuel scarcity during Jonathan, you will see that during Christmas, they (marketers) create artificial scarcity those days. When Mele Kyari came as the GMD of the NNPC, you can see throughout Buhari’s regime there was no scarcity because they did the right thing to make sure that when marketers are given this product at the depot, they carry the product to filling stations for distribution to the end users.
“But don’t forget there was subsidy that time, they were happy the subsidy was on, and they were making billions. Now that the subsidy has been removed, no more free money now they resorted to holding this product so that they will maximize.”
The group equally questioned the controversy over the Dangote refinery, where it produces only diesel, kerosene and oil and does not produce premium motor spirit, noting that by doing so, Nigerians are not benefiting from the refinery.
