Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has warned oil marketers to refrain from creating artificial fuel scarcity that could cause hardship for citizens in the state.
AbdulRazaq, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, on Tuesday, called on fuel marketers to discharge fuel to the public under normal pricing as they bought the products they currently have at subsidised rates.
He explained that the situation whereby fuel marketers refused to sell to motorists unless the government increased the prices was entirely unwarranted.
AbdulRazaq further urged the marketers to avoid economic sabotage of the people by desisting from creating artificial scarcity of fuel bought at subsidised rates and causing panic in the state.
To enforce compliance, the governor said a task force led by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, would ensure that no fuel marketer causes undue hardship to the citizens in Kwara State.
He warned that any filling station found to be hoarding fuel would have its Certificate of Occupancy revoked and other penalties would apply.
Meanwhile, most of the petrol stations in the Ilorin area of the state had reportedly closed down and refused to sell fuel to motorists since the President, Bola Tinubu, announced during his inauguration on Monday that fuel subsidy would not be sustained by his administration.
In line with the governor’s directive, fuel marketers are expected to sell fuel at normal prices and avoid unnecessary hardship for the people of Kwara State.
