Fuel Scarcity: DSS May Also Be A Player, Cabals Must Be Dealt With – Stakeholders

Some stakeholders in the petroleum industry have reacted to the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Department of State Services (DSS) for normalcy to be restored in making petrol available to Nigerians.

According to the stakeholders, the DSS might know more than what it is telling Nigerians about the current fuel scarcity.

They also submitted that the ultimatum given by the DSS is unrealistic and won’t be effective because there are cabals and cartels that should be dealt with instead of issuing ultimatums.

Naija News recalls as fuel scarcity continues to bite harder across the country, the DSS on Thursday ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other stakeholders in the oil sector to address the lingering fuel crisis within 48 hours.

The spokesman of the secret police, Peter Afunanya, stated this at the headquarters of the service in Abuja shortly after the Director-General of DSS met with the stakeholders.

Afunanya hopes that the stakeholders would take the warning seriously as the agency would not want to see queues at various feeling stations across the country after 48 hours.

However, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), through its Chairman, System 2E, Eastern Zone, Sunny Nkpe stated on Monday that for the fuel scarcity to stop, the cabals must be taken care of.

He accused private depot owners of hoarding the product and causing hardship to Nigerians.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Nkpe said: “Let me make it categorically clear here: there is no amount of threat by DSS that is going to change anything. If it must change, they must start from the source; they should go to the private depot operators to find out where for now we are getting products from.

“Until the cartel or cabal in that area is handled or taken care of, we can never get any reduction or fairness in the distribution of the product.”

Similarly, a former President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, who was also a guest on the same programme said the DSS must work on the information it has.

He argued that for the secret police to issue the ultimatum, there is more to the current scarcity being experienced in the country.

According to him, “For DSS to come out and issue an ultimatum, the DSS must be privy to some information…Everyone must focus on the DSS to come out with its results within 48 hours or else, DSS may also be a player in the game.

“DSS must tell Nigerians its findings within 48 hours and whoever is behind this should be prosecuted because there are enough products in this country for everybody to get petrol.”

This article was originally published on Naija News