Osun State government has issued a stern warning to petroleum marketers, declaring that any filling station in the state caught hoarding fuel shall be sealed off.
The Governor Ademola Adeleke-led administration also said operators of any of such filling stations found guilty of hoarding fuel shall be prosecuted for crime of economic sabotage.
The state government issued the warning against the backdrop of deliberate hoard of the product by some unscrupulous marketers.
As contained in a release by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, the state government was not unaware of plots by some marketers to cause artificial fuel scarcity in the state.
The government said the affected fuel dealers are causing unnecessary hardship for the people in the state.
It is also described the action as not only inhumane, but also unpatriotic, vowing that such would not be allowed in the state.
“The attention of the Osun State government has been drawn to the deliberate hoarding of PMS by the fuel dealers within the state.
“[Their action was] as a result of the statement from the inaugural speech of the new President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the removal of fuel subsidy.
“[The affected fuel dealers are, by their actions] thereby causing unnecessary hardship for the people in the state.
“This deliberate action is not only inhumane, but unpatriotic and will not be allowed by the government,” it was stated in the release.
The government made it known that the Special Monitoring Team On Fuel Scarcity it earlier set up was still effective and would swing into action against the marketers suspected to be hoarding fuel.
It vowed not to condone and form of economic sabotage in the state, adding that the monitoring team, led by the Chief of Staff, Hon. Kazeem Akinleye, would, from today, commence special monitoring of all the filling stations in the state
“As from today, 30 May, 2023, the Committee shall begin special monitoring of all the filling stations across the state in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
“Any fuel station found guilty of hoarding fuel to create artificial scarcity shall be sealed off and operators prosecuted for crime of economic sabotage,” it was stated in the release.
