The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) has urged security agencies to apprehend petrol hoarders as scarcity persists nationwide.
Addressing a press conference at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, on Wednesday, the co-chair of the committee and Chairman, of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere, stated that despite having enough petrol to last 30 days, logistical challenges have disrupted supply and distribution.
He criticized middlemen for exploiting the situation for profit and called for cooperation to combat hoarding and price hikes. Ugochinyere, the representative of Ideato North/South Federal Constituency in Imo State, expressed concern over the actions of middlemen exploiting supply disruptions to profit excessively, to the detriment of the people. He called on security forces to collaborate with key stakeholders in the petroleum distribution chain to combat economic sabotage such as hoarding, price hikes, product diversion, and smuggling. Ugochinyere emphasized the need to prevent further hardships for the people and urged traders and service providers not to exploit the current challenges.
The Committee assured Nigerians that the fuel scarcity would be resolved in a few days and urged patience.
