PMS: NSCDC goes tough on black marketers, erring filling stations in Kwara
By Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Kwara state Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Makinde Iskil Ayinla, has reiterated the corps’ readiness to deal with filling stations who refused to sell their products thereby worsening the current situation regarding scarcity of fuel in the State.
The Commandant stated this in a statement on the activities and assessments of the corps in the last few days on the current scarcity of the premium motor spirit (pms) and efforts to checkmate any sharp practices by filing stations that are still selling above the recommended pump price or hoarding the products thereby causing artificial scarcity.
He said: “In line with the directive of the Commandant General of the NSCDC Ahmed Abubakar Audi that we must make sure that the petroleum products must be made available to the people at recommended pump price and also that the corps should checkmate activities of the pipeline vandals, petroleum black marketers, those engaging in fuel adulteration and diversion among others, that is why we have been going around the 16 local governments in the State since last weekend in order to checkmate the activities of erring filing stations and those buying the products inside kegs to go and resell at exorbitant prices to the hapless general public.”
According to the spokesman of the NSCDC in the State, Babawale Zaid Afolabi, the task force led by the head of the anti vandal unit, ACC Ayinde Yusuf, discovered that some filling stations have the products and refused to sell while some were selling the product for as high as N250 per litre against the recommended N165 per litre.
“Those that have the products but choose to hoard it were ordered to start selling it and our team made sure they emptied their fuel dump before leaving the place. Also some were caught selling above the normal price and were asked to immediately revert to the recommended 165 naira”, Babawale disclosed.
He narrated further that owners and managers of the erring filing stations were made to sign undertakings that they would not engage in any sharp practices forthwith, while some black marketers were arrested and the products they concealed inside kegs confiscated.
The NSCDC’s task force has visited more than 50 filling stations across Ilorin metropolis and has also embarked on an the-spot-assessment to neighbouring towns such as Offa, Alapa, Bode Saadu, Omu Aran among others.