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Motorists urge Anambra Govt to sanction outlets hoarding PMS
Motorists in Awka, the capital of Anambra, have called on the state government to seal up filling stations that undermine smooth distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the state.
The motorists made the call in protest against some filling stations that deliberately refused to attend to the public in spite of having products in sufficient quantity.
They said special attention should be given to activities of a particular filling station which sold at a reasonably low price but operated a little over six hours a day.
Mr Nnamdi Ezeudo, an inter-state transport operator, said the filling station, located near the Anambra Fire Service headquarters, Agu Awka in Awka, was making life difficult for the people.
Ezeudo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the station, which sold at over N150, less than other independent marketers, left people in queues from 6 a.m. till about 11 a.m. before opening for business.
“Any day I want to buy fuel here, I don’t do any other thing, I don’t even operate my business because I will come here as early as 5 a.m. to queue and these people will not start selling until around 12 noon.
“They sell at a good price because we understand they are one of the depot owners but, they should serve the public or close, it is unethical to behave the way you like because members of the public have limited choice.
” This is pure hoarding and it is an offence. The state government should make them operate according to the law or shut them down,” he said.
Another motorist, Mr Tony Nnaeto, said only independent marketers which sold PMS at high prices opened to customers from morning till night if they had products, unlike major marketers like Rain Oil outlets and NNPC mega station.
Nnaeto, a civil servant, said filling station operations were guided by law and should be supervised by the relevant regulatory authorities but instead the masses were left on their own.
According to him, the prices are haphazard – those selling at low prices don’t sell even when they have products while those that sell at high prices are open for business unless they don’t have.
“How can one be on queue, at a filling station that has products, for five six hours yet they do not open; how many hours do you have to work when you eventually manage to buy at about 3 p.m.
“The Anambra State Government and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority don’t come around to check these excesses; even their pump metres are not monitored to ensure they dispense adequately,” he said.
Some of the attendants at one of the filling stations, however, said only their management staff, who were outside the state, could speak on issues of their operations.
Reacting to the situation, Mr Tony Ifeanya, Commissioner for Petroleum Resources in Anambra, said the government had received a huge number of complaints of unacceptable business practices by the marketers.
Ifeanya said though marketers would argue that only NMDPRA had powers over their operations, the government of Anambra had the constitutional mandate to protect its citizens from abuse and extortion.
He said hoarding of petroleum products amounted to economic sabotage and no marketer would be allowed to frustrate efforts of the Federal Government to ease the stress in the downstream sector.
“We have received complaints on the arbitrary operations of some of these filling stations. As a government, we shall move in to check these excesses because we have the mandate to protect the people.
“They have products but open to the public whenever they like, we will not condone that any more, these are mainly some filling stations that sell at a little cheaper rate,”
Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa has set up a committee to work out modalities for implementation of a new minimum wage for workers in the state’s civil service.
The committee is headed by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei.
Other members included the Head of Service, Mrs Biobelemoye Charles-Onyeama, the Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, his Labour, Productivity and Employment counterpart, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr Peter Akpe.
The committee has the end of May 2024 to submit its report.
Diri made the pronouncement on Wednesday at the 2024 Workers Day celebration at the Peace Park in Yenagoa.
The governor assured that his administration would implement a new minimum wage once the committee submitted its report, adding that the state workers always have emoluments as their federal counterparts.
Diri stressed that the welfare of workers had always been a top priority of his administration as attested to by the numerous worker-friendly policies he initiated.
He equally promised to commence the building of a new befitting secretariat complex for civil servants to accommodate the increasing workforce.
The state’s helmsman, who described workers as the backbone of development in society, attributed the achievements in his first tenure to the support and contributions of civil servants.
He called for continuous harmonious working relationship with his government in order to bequeath lasting legacies.
The Bayelsa helmsman also approved an annual step increment for civil servants, release of funds for completion of the state secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“The committee is to immediately look into what the Federal Government has done on the proposed minimum wage and see the possibility of domesticating it in Bayelsa.
“It is given until the end of May to submit its report.
“My dear workers of Bayelsa, you have done so well. You know that you are the engine room of this government. We have succeeded because you have done so well. We receive commendations everywhere we go.
“In terms of infrastructure, human capacity building and other sectors, we have done well. I say you should continue to keep it up.”
According to him, together, we are building a Bayelsa of our dreams, a beacon of hope, a model of progress and a testament to our unity of purpose.
“The tangible evidence of these fruitful collaborations is that abundantly, we have made it clear for all to see in the plethora of transformative legacy projects that now span the length and breadth of our state, touching the lives of all Bayelsa people.
“Let us continue to work together so that the future of our state will be established.
“Beyond the ongoing renovation, we will look at the option of building a new state-of-the-art secretariat complex to accommodate the expanding workforce,” he said.
Earlier, the workers eulogised the governor for his labour-friendly policies that had improved their working condition.
In a joint address by the chairman of the NLC, Comrade Barnabas Simon, and his TUC counterpart, Comrade Laye Julius, the workers specifically thanked the governor for approving payment of wage award to all categories of workers in Bayelsa.
“We thank you for the regular conduct of promotion exercises and implementation, prompt payment of salaries of workers and pensioners, among others.
“Organised labour in Bayelsa is most sincerely grateful for your kind and favourable disposition to the needs and aspirations of workers in the state.
“Your open-door policies and swift response to most of our demands in the last four years is highly appreciated,” they said.
They, however, appealed for an upward review of the wage award, improved transportation system for workers, and mapping out of acquired lands for civil servants.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has said the Group Chief Executive Officer and founder of The Landmark Group, Paul Onwuanibe, cannot claim compensation from the Federal Government in connection with the demolition of structures for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The Federal Government is currently demolishing properties along the shoreline to create a pathway for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The Landmark Group, owners of the Landmark beach in Lagos State, is believed to be one of the organisations that will be highly affected by the demolition.
However, Umahi has insisted that infrastructures belonging to Landmark were spared, hence the owner can’t make claims on the Federal Government.
Addressing journalists, the minister said the beach was on the right of way and shoreline.
He said: “No claim for Landmark, we spared all his infrastructure, we don’t pay for the demolition of shanties because it is on our right-of-way, 15 meters from the shoreline, so he has no claim.
“We made all efforts to spare his infrastructure. The Landmark owner is acting like a politician, me I’m an engineer.
“While he does all the politics, I am an engineer, I’ll do the engineering work. I don’t know the attention he is seeking.”
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