Fuel: Don't Sell Above N230 Per Litre, Bayelsa Govt Urges

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, as fuel scarcity lingers nationwide, the Bayelsa State government has directed all fuel stations in the state not to sell petrol above N230 per litre, as against the national price of N165 per litre.

NAN reported that the deputy governor, Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, also directed that no consumer should get more than 25 litres in a jerrycan. This he said during the inauguration of a monitoring team on the pricing and distribution of petroleum products in the state.

The directives, he said, would be in force until normalcy returned to petroleum products distribution and supply, NAN reported.

Ewhrudjakpo noted that Bayelsa had the least allocation of petrol from the NNPC but assured that government was taking every necessary step to end the scarcity as soon as possible.

Speaking on fuel subsidy paid by the state, Ewhrudjakpo stated that making Bayelsa to pay the same amount as states with higher allocation of petrol amounted to robbing Peter to pay Paul.

According to NAN, Ewhrudjakpo appealed to the Federal Government to end the perceived injustice in fuel subsidy payment by ensuring that each state paid based on the number of trucks allocated to it every month.

He further hinted that Bayelsa would look at the possibility of having a fuel depot, as having none affected fuel supply in the state.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Petroleum Taskforce, Mr Richman Samuel, said, through effective negotiation, petrol price was brought down from N300 per litre to N230 per litre in the state.

He urged marketers not to sell above the negotiated price.

Samuel said that the taskforce had been working in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the situation was brought under control.

Reacting to the statement, the Chairman of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Mr Dukumor Taremi-West, assured that marketers would not take undue advantage of consumers, according to NAN.

NAN reported that the Operations Controller of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Bayelsa Field Office, Mr Ogbe Nicholas, had earlier assured the public that there was enough petrol around the corner, as his office had already placed an order for ten trucks of petrol from the Warri and Port Harcourt depots.

Ogbe also noted that the absence of a depot in the state adversely affected fuel supply and left the state at the mercy of oil marketers.