PENGASSAN chief decries worsening fuel crisis

A former Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr Oluwaseyi Gambo, on Friday decried the worsening fuel crisis in the country.
Gambo spoke in Lagos against the backdrop of the recent statement by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu.
On March 23, Kachikwu announced that the current fuel scarcity might linger till May, in spite of the efforts being made by the Federal Government to end the scarcity.
The minister said that since he was not a magician, the fuel queues would not be eliminated with a magic wand.
He, however, said that he and members of his team were working hard to resolve the problem.
Gambo said: “we have a suffering populace who spends hours and days on queues for what is an abundant resource in their country.
“The minister should have taken time to inform Nigerians about the whole value chain and why fuel will be scarce and what is being done to arrest the situation.
“Gone are the days when Nigerians do not demand explanations from their leaders or public servants.
“So, it behooves on those in position of authority to explain the true position of things in clear terms to Nigerians.”
Gambo called on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to monitor the movement of petroleum trucks from the depots to avoid diversion of products by some marketers.
“There is also an element of economic sabotage because trucks are leaving the depots and getting to filling stations but you still see the same chaotic situation in many filling stations.
“So, we need more monitoring and I think the Federal Government should employ more hands in DPR to deal with the situation,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, lauded the minister for telling Nigerians the truth about the fuel situation.
He said that going by the minister’s statement, it did not mean that there won’t be fuel, but it would take two months before the situation could be controlled.
Korodo, however, accused some undesirable elements in the oil sector of using the crisis to hoard the available fuel at the depots thereby inflicting pains on Nigerians.
He urged motorists to prudently manage the situation, adding that all hands would be on deck to ensure that the scarcity was put in check.
Korodo said that the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) unit of NUPENG would ensure that no product meant for motorists were diverted.