•••STAKEHOLDERS PROMISE 24 HOURS DISTRIBUTION OF FUEL
The Department of State Services has issued a 48 hour ultimatum to stakeholders in the oil sector to end the lingering scarcity of fuel to an end.
The Spokesman of the DSS, Mr Peter Afunaya said after a meeting with stakeholders that the service decided to intervene in the general interest.
Afunaya said that the DSS would not allow a few individuals to destabilize the country.
According to the DSS Spokesman, the
Nigerian National Petroleum Company limited disclosed during the meeting that it had about 1.9bn litres of PmS in stock.
He said that the quantity of fuel in stock is enough to last for the period of Yuletide and long after.
He stressed that the DSS would deploy operatives to ensure availability of petroleum products across the country at the expiration of the 48 hour ultimatum.
He said, “The mandate of the Service is to detect and prevent threat to National Security, this is why the Service has to summon the Stakeholders meeting in the oil and gas sector to find a lasting solution to the probem before it snowball to crisis.
” The stakeholders at the meeting included: Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot operators and National Association of Transport Owners, NATO among others.
” There is an agreement that marketers will be operating for 24hrs on daily basis and that tankers owners said all hands will be on deck to ensure lifting of the products. “IPMAN has also committed itself to ensure that the product is available for 24hrs daily.
” The NNPC Ltd disclosed thatt it has over 1.9bn litres of PMS in stock and also agreed to sell the products at offical ex- Depot price to all Oil marketers Nationwide
“For we at the DSS, we agreed to provide adequate security for fuel distribution.
“Therefore, we insisted that the fuel distribution must improve and all challenges eliminated in 48hrs, and after 48hrs, we will as a matter of urgency carryout operations across the country. And in doing this, we won’t mind whose oars is gored.
” We are sounding a note of warning that it won’t be business as usual. We have set our commands and platform nationwide on high alert and they are to get information on any element who want to obstruct these efforts
” We are also advising the members of the public not to capitalize on the fuel scarcity to take laws into their hands as the Service will deal ruthlessly with individual or groups trying to obstruct even distribution of the products.”
