Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has directed all filling stations across the state to start selling fuel within the approved price or risk being shut down indefinitely.
The governor consequently mandated the State Task Force on Petroleum Products and security agencies in the state to move around filling stations, starting from Wednesday morning to enforce the directive.
Oyebanji gave the directives during a meeting with the leadership of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, members of the state task force, and heads of security agencies in the state.
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He said, “We will not sit here and allow some people to make life difficult for our people. The subsidy removal has not been effected. Any filling station hoarding fuel or selling at unauthorized prices would be sealed indefinitely.
The governor said that state governors, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, will meet on the issue of the planned subsidy removal next week, adding that “Ekiti will not tolerate any attempt by any marketer to inflict hardship on the people through hoarding and unauthorized hike in price.
“The task force and the security agents will go out Wednesday morning. I have called this meeting so we can both look at the situation together because any filling station that is sealed will remain so till the end of the year.
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“No station has the right to hoard fuel. If they did not give you fuel or you have exhausted your supply, we will understand and nobody will blame you for not selling fuel” the governor said.
He directed the task force to visit all filling stations and seal off any filling station hoarding petroleum products, selling at unauthorized prices or found to have manipulated their meters, adding that such would be after the task force might have supervised the sale of such hoarded product to the public.
The marketers, who apologized on behalf of their erring members, promised to deploy their task force to ensure compliance with the governor’s order, even as they promised to cooperate with the State Task Force and the state government to ensure that the petrol was available.
The governor appealed to marketers to await further directives from the Federal Government on the planned subsidy removal.
He said “It will amount to share wickedness for anyone to hoard the product or unilaterally increase the price petroleum product before the full implementation of the policy.
