Akwa Ibom To Clamp Down On Petroleum Marketers

Akwa Ibom State, in the last three months has experienced increase in petrol prices as the commodity is being sold between N120 and N150 per litre in some filling stations.

* Obong Essien Esema

The development, however, made the state government to set up a petroleum monitoring task force on Tuesday, to clamp down on dealers hiking their pump price. 

The task force which is to be headed by Obong Essien Esema, has its members drawn from security agencies; labour; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN); and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.

It was gathered that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mega filling station, Oando, Total and Mobil filling stations that are selling petroleum products at N97 per litre, while other independent marketers are selling the commodity between N120 and N150 in the metropolis.

Responding, Sir Victor Etefia, the spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Eastern Zone, explained that 95 per cent of the petroleum products sold in Akwa Ibom are gotten from secondary markets.

"This is why you have price differences since there are two major sources of petroleum products, primary and secondary sources" he said. "The secondary source is a private tank farm, while the primary source is the NNPC depot. When the NNPC depot has no capacity to supply, you have no other option other than to go to the secondary source". 

Source: Legit.ng