NANS Condemns Fuel Scarcity, Calls For Functional Refineries

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has condemned the recent scarcity of fuel in some states in Nigeria.

The association in a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope on Monday requested the Federal Government to make the country’s refineries functional.

“Once again, Nigeria has been gripped by acute fuel scarcity. For some days now, fuel stations across the length and breadth of the country are selling the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) between N190 and N210 per litre against the supposed official price of N167.

“Meanwhile, some fuel stations have intentionally closed down in order to give room for black market to thrive and force the citizens to buy at N350 and N400 per litre.

“In all these, the Department of Petroleum Resources, which is meant to be performing monitoring duties, is lost.”

NANS maintained that the fuel scarcity had affected pepper grinders, barbers, transporters (motorcyclists, tricyclists, motorists), and sawmillers, causing them to count their losses.

“And, ordinarily, with the collapse of the naira against the dollar (N801 to $1), goods and commodities will skyrocket thereby taking its toll on the lives of the Nigerian people.

“We understand that the first and the most obvious problem of the downstream sector is the desolate state of the country’s four refineries which this administration came out at a time with the claim that they had all been revived. 

"Unfortunately, it was just an attempt to, once again, sell lies to the Nigerian people.

"The association further explained that “It is based on this that we are demanding that the Federal Government must make these refineries work again. 

"Giving private interests licenses to own refineries is not in the interests of the Nigerian people as it will only compound the crisis in the oil industry because of the dominance of private interests in refining, storage and distribution of petroleum products.

“It has been said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is the most corrupt and useless government agency in the country, considering the report of the Natural Resource Governance Institute,” NANS alleged.

“We have read of how the NNPC accounts remain unaudited and how the agency spends billions of dollars earned revenue without recourse to due process. 

"The corruption in the NNPC in connivance with oil racketeers is making a mockery of Nigeria as one of the largest oil producers in the world.

“Just a few weeks ago, a vessel conveying illegal fuel was seized by a private security firm of an ex-militant, Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo. 

"Rather than make proper investigations on it and bring those behind it to book, the Nigerian military set the vessel ablaze. We see that as an attempt to cover up.

"Also, we read of how a pipe illegally diverting fuel deep down the sea was unravelled few weeks ago, till this very moment, no arrest has been made. We can go on and on.

“As an association, we want to state emphatically that this is not the kind of change the Nigerian people signed up for; the country is now in a very chaotic situation.”