Gift Chizoba 
The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) has urged security agencies to take action against hoarders of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, as fuel scarcity persists across Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the co-chair of the committee, Ikenga Ugochinyere, emphasized that despite sufficient petrol reserves to last for about 30 days, logistical challenges in transporting the product from offshore to onshore have disrupted supply and distribution.
Ugochinyere condemned the activities of middlemen exploiting the supply disruption to maximize profit, stressing the need for security forces to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to detect and address acts of economic sabotage, including hoarding, price gouging, product diversion, and smuggling.
He assured Nigerians that the challenges causing the fuel scarcity would be resolved in a few days, emphasizing the temporary nature of the situation. Ugochinyere also called for patience from the public, stating that efforts were underway to clear logistical bottlenecks and normalize supply.
Henry Okojie, co-chair of the Committee and Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum (Midstream), echoed Ugochinyere’s sentiments, urging Nigerians to remain patient as the government works to address the fuel crisis within the week.
The Committees emphasized that while fuel queues may currently be present at petrol stations nationwide, the underlying issues causing the disruptions were being addressed, and significant progress was expected in the coming days. They reassured the public that there were sufficient petrol reserves available and that measures were being taken to ensure smooth distribution to end-users.
