Nation
Scarcity Of Kerosine, A National Embarassment –Peterside
Hon. Dakuku Peterside, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream has described the lingering kerosene crisis across the country as a national embarrassment,
He made the statement in Calabar in continuation of his committee’s oversight visit to Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC and private oil facilities in the Port Harcourt area.
Peterside who spoke with officials of PPMC, marketers, retailers and consumers of DPK said this kerosene scarcity is not only an embarrassment but a denial of basic rights of ordinary Nigerians who bear the brunt of national challenges such as this.
“This scarcity is a national embarrassment and with every reported scarcity in any part of the country, we feel diminished as a people. Therefore we must address it because it is unacceptable. Our people should not suffer, there is no reason to suffer in the midst of plenty. For me, the big question is: where is DPK disappearing to despite huge importation by government”, Peterside queried.
In the Chairman’s view therefore, the availability of Kerosene should be taken for granted by Nigerians, particularly those in the low income cadre who have suffered this unusually long crisis period.
However, Peterside commended the management and staff of North-West Petroleum and Gas Company for making kerosene available by going the extra mile. He urged the company to sustain this service which has greatly reduced the burden of sourcing the product in Calabar metropolis and beyond. He also visited North-West mega station in Calabar, where he interacted with consumers of the product who had formed long queues at the filling station prior to his arrival.
At Calabar office of PPMC, independent marketers spoke through their chairman, Michael Udofia. According to them, kerosene is only available in private depots and they are bought at very exorbitant price. And this is why it is difficult to sell at government approved prices to end users.
Peterside later addressed retailers who came to protest to members of his committee about the worsening situation in Calabar and its environs. He assured them that the nation’s legislature cannot afford to look the other way while Nigerians suffer. “We are going to urgently set up a sub-committee to address this issue, I can assure you”, he said. The chairman also promised that his committee would look into the catalogue of challenges facing operators in the sector.
The House Committee on Petroleum, Downstream also visited Calabar Free Trade Zone. While addressing management and staff of the free zone, Peterside stressed the need for Nigerians to take interest in manufacturing since this is the only way of accelerating our nation’s economic growth.
The chairman and members of his committee had earlier paid a courtesy call on Senator Liyel Imoke, governor of Cross River State who commended the committee for its efforts in addressing challenges in the downstream sector of our economy.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.