twitter/HETimipreSylva
The Federal Government has blamed rising cost of petrol in the country on activities of marketers eager to make illicit profits from the hardship of Nigerians.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, disclosed this to newsmen, yesterday, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Reports indicated that most fuel stations in different parts of the country now sell above the approved pump price of N195, oscillating between N200 and N650, with many others reportedly hoarding the product.
Sylva, however, said the ministry might repeat an earlier directive to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to sanction the marketers.
He assured that all stakeholders in the downstream sector are working to ensure the current crisis is brought under control. He said: “We have reports of profiteering by marketers, and I’ve directed NMDPRA to sanction anybody who profiteers from this kind of situation.
We cannot stand by and watch our citizens being exploited by marketers.
“But, of course, I’ve given that directive and I don’t know if it has not taken effect. I don’t know the details of how far that directive has been carried out. I’m going to still further give that directive, if that is still the situation. But definitely, we are not paying a blind eye at all.”
