By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
Most petrol retail outlets in Benue State, particularly in Makurdi,the state capital, have closed shop, creating room for black marketers whose price gouging of the vital product has further deepened the economic woes being experienced by residents.
It could be recalled that some hoodlums in Aliade town, Gwer East Local Government Area (LGA) had hijacked a petrol-laden tanker and stolen the entire consignment in the vehicle in 2022 with the State Government vowing to bear the cost of paying for the product.
However, several years after, the Government was yet to redeem its promise –a situation that has propelled the petrol marketers’ union to close their stations, irrespective of consequences on residents.
But the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Deborah Aber, has assured that the Governor Hyacinth Alia administration is not resting on its oars to get the stations reopened.
Asked further to explain why the state government has allowed residents of the state to suffer the consequences of petrol unavailability, the SSG explained that the withdrawal of services by the oil dealers and closure of stations came unexpectedly.
According to her, the administration was not unaware of the problem, revealing that a process for an acceptable resolution was underway.
The SSG disclosed that the union approached government for payment, adding that the administration was looking at the entire scenario because the removal of the petroleum product from the tanker appeared to be a case of “pure criminal case of theft and vandalism.”
The State Government, she further explained, was not involved in the act, but decided to hold meetings with the oil dealers to provide lasting solution to the issue, lamenting the current “shocking” closure of petrol stations in the state while “moderate efforts” were already ongoing to get the problem resolved.
She said: “We are having meetings and conversations with them. We spoke to the supposed owner of the goods, the company by name Ganaco Investment Limited today, being the one that has lost the products.”
Aber insisted that Ganaco must be part of the meeting, wondering why the National Union of Petroleum Workers (NUPENG) leadership, to which the marketers belong, preferred to leave out the direct victim from the negotiations.
Nonetheless, she expressed optimism for success of the dialogue, noting that a resolution would be reached after the day’s interface.
Mrs Aber, who acknowledged that the issue lingered unresolved for a long while, explained that the decision to reconstitute a fresh committee to address the matter became compelling on her assumption of the duty.
According to her, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other relevant agencies of law enforcement have been requested to provide details of the problem and the process of assembling those details was misunderstood by the oil dealers as delay on government’s part.
Officials of the union offered no comment but sources close to them believed that the delay in solving the problem forced the union’s national headquarters to take over the matter, adding that the three days’ warning strike/closure of outlets was authorized by the body so as to seek accelerated action by government.
The source said that at expiration of the warning strike, it would become indefinite if the State Government ignores the warning strike.
Speaking further, the source blamed government for the delay, recalling that the issue started in 2022 when the oil tanker owned by one of the union members got vandalized in Aliade.
Throwing more light on what really happened, the source revealed that a total of 45,000 cubic litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known also as petrol, was stolen by a large crowd of hoodlums who vandalized the vehicle and left its owner in a helpless situation.
The source lamented that the vandalism was reported to relevant security agencies as well as the local and state authorities, but arrests were not made in connection with the issue.
A twist has occurred in the state government’s bid to resolve the matter as the oil dealers failed to show up at the venue of a meeting scheduled for last Tuesday in the SSG’s office with other government officials present .
Reports said the SSG, who arrived for the parley, later left the venue at past 6pm.
Amidst these developments, Benue residents are presently in dire straits as transport and food costs, which were already high due to President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, have reached ‘boiling point’, raising concerns of a possible mass crisis.
