By Jeleel Olawale

The Special Taskforce set up by the Osun State Government to monitor the Petroleum Scarcity has raided filling stations in Osogbo, the State capital.

The Taskforce which has the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye as the chairman, went round filling stations in Osogbo, Ifon, Ilobu today to ensure that marketers do not hoard the products while people suffer from petrol scarcity.

The Taskforce team which consists of Commissioner for Government House and Protocol, Honourable Soji Ajeigbe, Commissioner for Youths, Hon. Moshood Olagunju has two Special Advisers to the Governor, Hon. Babatunde Badmus and Alhaji Nurudeen Emiloju, among others.

At Muhy International Investment filling station at Ayekale, the committee ordered the manager to start dispensing as it was discovered to be hoarding about 800 litres in its PMS tank.

Addressing the petrol marketers and members of the public waiting to buy Petrol products, Hon. Soji Ajeigbe appreciated the managers of the filling stations that were seen dispensing the products.

According to him, the Taskforce was not out to shut down or witch-hunt any petroleum marketer but to ensure that any station found hoarding the product started dispensing the products immediately to the members of the public.

The team also took time to address members of the public on the need to be orderly and law-abiding, assuring that the state government is doing everything possible to facilitate more allocation of PMS to the state from the depots in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

Members of the public who were happy at the activities of the Taskforce were full of appreciation for the state government for being responsive to the public cries.

It was carnival-like from Agunbelewo where okada riders started following the taskforce from one filling station to another as those who were not selling before started dispensing the products ahead of the task force’s visit to their stations

The Taskforce inspected PMS tanks of the stations that were not dispensing the products to ascertain that they were not hoarding the product.

Parts of the stations visited include Major and Independent marketers as well as NNPC retail stations in Osogbo, Olorunda, Irepodun and Orolu local Governments.

Members of the Taskforce include Honourable Niyi Olaniyan, S A policy Coordination, and security agents.

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has said that a policy that would enforce road worthiness of truck heads plying roads in the state would be put in place.

Addressing the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo and his entourage, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, after visiting the site of last Saturday’s explosion, Governor Abiodun said attention would also be paid to gas cylinders used by the trucks to ensure quality and standard.

The Governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, said the steps became necessary in view of the preponderance of gas utilisation in the state.

He said, “I was very worried when the report of the incident reached me, and the reason for that is that Ogun State is the industrial capital of Nigeria with over 6,000 manufacturing industries and companies. We enjoy gas reticulation more than any other state in Nigeria.

“With the explosion, a lot of questions were asked as to what happened, how it happened, and the lessons learnt. We have received a preliminary report from the Ministry of Environment.

“We have taken some steps to forestall future occurrence. We have shut down the company involved to conduct a safety audit, and investigations are ongoing to determine the immediate cause of the incident and how to ensure that it does not repeat itself.

“We must ensure that truck heads that convey gas are road worthy. We are going to put in place a policy that enforces road worthiness of trucks and looks at issues around standards. These issues will govern quality and assure us of the quality of the gas cylinders.”

Prince Abiodun said he was worried about how the public would perceive the incident, especially with the constitution of the Presidential Task Force on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to deepen the provision, utilization and off take of gas across the country.

He stressed the need for the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to be up and doing as the gas industry is fast evolving, noting that it was necessary to ensure adequate regulation of the industry.

While appreciating President Bola Tinubu for commiserating with the government and the people of the state on the incident, Governor Abiodun assured that his administration would collaborate with the federal government to find out the immediate cause and what needed to be done to guide against future occurrence and how to support those affected.

“I am glad that you have come and demonstrated that utmost responsiveness and concern which is heart warning and I am sure that your coming itself will assure the people of Ogun State that they are not alone in this

The Nigerian federal government has shifted the application deadline for companies interested in managing the $10 billion Diaspora Fund.

Minister of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a circular on Thursday in Abuja.

Accordingly, the deadline for May 6 has been shifted to May 13, 2024.

The minister urged prospective applicants to utilise the extra time to complete their submissions, ensuring they are thorough and competitive.

She stressed that the extension is designed to allow stakeholders additional time to adequately prepare their applications following the guidelines established for the fund.

“The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment wishes to inform all interested parties that the deadline for the submission of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the Nigeria Diaspora Fund has been extended.

“The new submission deadline is May 13, 2024. This extension is intended to accommodate stakeholders who require more time to prepare their applications by the guidelines provided for the $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund,” she stated.