The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has dismissed the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Department of State Services (DSS) for oil marketers to make petrol available for Nigerians as inconsequential.
PETROAN Chairman, System 2E, Eastern Zone, Sunny Nkpe, who said this during Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, tasked the government to do the needful.
The DSS through its spokesperson, Peter Afunaya, had on Thursday ordered petrol marketers to make the product available in order to solve the crisis of long queues in many parts of the country.
Hours after the order, there were reports that the crisis of fuel scarcity had been mitigated.
However, IPMAN Chairman, Ibadan Depot, in-charge of Oyo and Osun states, Bukola Butiu, said some private depot owners were profiteering from the current situation.
Nkpe in the Monday interview said the problem would persist until the cartel operating among private depot are effectively handled.
He said: “Let me make it categorically clear here: there is no amount of threat by DSS that is going to change anything. If it must change, they must start from the source; they should go to the private depot operators to find out where for now we are getting products from.
“Until the cartel or cabal in that area is handled or taken care of, we can never get any reduction or fairness in the distribution of the product.”
(Ripples)