Nigeria’s Oil Minister, Dr. Heineken Lokpobiri, on Saturday, visited some fuel stations in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, to monitor the availability of petroleum products.
After landing at the Bayelsa Airport in the morning, the minister went straight to the Rain Oil Filling station at Etegwe.
He also visited an NNPC affiliate filling station at Etegwe, Rano Oil at Opolo, and NNPC mega filling station at Berger junction.
Our correspondent reported that Lokpobiri was accompanied by some officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
During the tour, the oil minister asked the pump attendants to dispense fuel to measure the actual volume being sold to the buyers.
Speaking to newsmen, Lokpobiri hinted that the visit was to ascertain the availability of petroleum products and to ensure that Nigerians are not being cheated.
He was happy to observe the availability of petroleum products in line with the deregulation policy of the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu.
He insisted that since Tinubu took over the reins of leadership, Nigerians are no longer experiencing fuel scarcity due to price hikes usually caused by high demand during Christmas seasons.
In the words of Lokpobiri: “This is the second time running under this administration that petroleum products are available during the festive season.
“If you recall during the festive season when there is high demand, there is product scarcity leading to price hikes. But last year there was product availability and this year there is product availability.
“Now that the oil sector is fully deregulated under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, what the government is concerned about is product availability, and then the product must be dispensed to customers in the right volume.”
“What we have seen in the past is that someone is telling you he is selling 100 litres, when in actual fact you are being sold 50 litres.
“That is why without any notice when I landed without even getting to my house, I had to visit one station to the other to ensure that Nigerians were not being cheated.”
“The essence of the deregulation can be seen in the price disparity. As government what we need to do is to ensure that the products are available for the benefit of Nigerians.’’
Lokpobiri, while speaking on the need to dispense the right volume of products for the full value of payments made by customers, tasked operators of two filling stations to adjust their pumps to dispense the right volume.
The minister promised to visit the filling stations again to make sure the right thing is being done.
He advised distributors and owners of filling stations to stop sharp practices, saying the full weight of the law will be used against culprits.
Lokpobiri equally urged Nigerians to be on the lookout for any fuel stations cheating the people.
