The Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, has concluded plans to commence inspection of filling stations nationwide, over recent fears of fuel scarcity in the country. This development comes as the Senate has summoned the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, on the matter. Baru is expected to appear on Thursday December 7, 2017.
Chairman of the committee, Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara State) disclosed this on Tuesday, while briefing newsmen shortly after an investigative hearing on the matter in Abuja. Marafa said the Senate would not watch some unpatriotic persons put Nigerians through any form of hardship, particularly during the yuletide. He noted that though the upper legislative chamber had adjourned to commence budget defence, members of the committee would take time out to embark on oversight.
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According to him, members of the committee will be regrouped into sub-committees to make it possible to visit all the states. He said: “We will take time out to embark on a serious oversight. We will break into sub-committees to be able to cover the entire country. “We have already mandated the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to furnish us with the daily distribution. This is to enable the sub-committees to be armed with detailed evidence of which filling station was given what quantity of fuel.
“We will also get these details from the filling stations to ascertain when last they got supplies and the quantity sold. We will also inspect tanks in filling stations to ensure that Nigerians are not taken advantage of”. The lawmaker warned filling stations in the habit of hoarding fuel to inflict untold pains on Nigerians to desist as it would not be business as usual. Marafa assured that the Senate would work with relevant agencies of government to punish any filling station found wanting. He assured Nigerians that the Senate would do everything possible to break the jinx of unnecessary fuel scarcity in the country during festivities.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
