Reps Probe Petrol Shortage, Fault NNPC’s Sufficient Supply Claim

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, expanded the scope of its ongoing investigation of petrol shortage caused by the importation of off-spec petrol, asking its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to investigate why long queues were still persisting at the filling stations.

Specifically, the House is to probe the claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that there is sufficient reserve of standard PMS to ease the tension caused by the adulterated supply.

The Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, had raised a point of order to decry the hardships caused by the shortage of fuel in the Abuja metropolis.

Elumelu said, “I wanted to come under Order 8 Rules 4 and 7 for us to discuss this issue of the lingering fuel crisis in Nigeria. I agree that the NNPC said they had enough but it (the situation) does not seem to tally with their submission that they have enough fuel. There are still some lingering fuel crises in the whole of Nigeria.

“Today, it was even difficult for me to get here because all the roads are totally blocked by those wanting to get fuel, and there is no fuel. There is already an existing committee saddled with the responsibility of investigating the issue of adulterated fuel.”

The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, who upheld Elumelu’s order, asked the committee to also probe into the NNPC’s claim and the lingering supply shortage.

Gbajabiamila said, “There is a connection or nexus between that motion of last week on contaminated fuel and what you have rightly brought up – the observation of the long queues. So, the standing Committee on Downstream Petroleum should please take note and expedite their investigation of this lingering crisis.”