The Convener of a civil society organisation, Concerned Nigerians, has condemned the persistent scarcity of petroleum products due to alleged hoarding by independent marketers.
Queues have recently surfaced at many filling stations across the country, while many others have closed down their activities, causing panic commuters and drivers.
Motorists were left with no option but to purchase fuel from black marketers at a higher price, ranging from N1,000 to N1,500 for four litres.
Adeyanju, in a letter to the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, asked the government to take urgent steps to address the economic sabotage, especially as there is no tangible reason for the scarcity.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari is the petroleum minister. He made himself the Minister of Petroleum in 2015.
He also called on the government to arrest the offending marketers and shut their filling stations.
The letter read, “As you may already know, in recent months independent marketers of petroleum products have engaged in speculative acts of hoarding petroleum products, particularly PMS, in a bid to criminally increase the prices, cause artificial scarcity and plunge the country into widespread economic chaos.
“For example, filling stations across the nation’s capital are littered with long queues of vehicles seeking to purchase fuel, while the independent marketers ensure that their filling stations are shut for the day by 6 pm.
“What is, however, deeply worrisome is that the regulators have not deemed it necessary to call these independent marketers to order but continue to allow them to take advantage of Nigerians. At a time when Nigerians are going through excruciating pain, artificial fuel scarcity is the last thing they should worry about.
“It is equally important to point out that causing artificial scarcity resulting in economic sabotage is a criminal offence under our laws. The Federal government must, therefore, put a halt to the ball-watching and take urgent steps to address the economic sabotage, especially as there is no reason for artificial scarcity at this time.
“Sequel to the foregoing, we call on the Federal government to arrest the offending marketers, shut their filling stations and bring this ongoing economic sabotage to an end. Nigerians deserve to buy fuel at an accessible rate anytime.”
