By TYAV SAM TYAV, Makurdi –
Fuel scarcity hits Benue State as petrol stations shut down in solidarity with Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over unpaid compensation for a vandalized fuel tanker, paving the way for black marketers to hike prices.
It could be recalled that some hoodlums in Aliade , Gwer East Local Government Area hijacked a tanker and removed the petroleum product in the tanker in 2022 and the state government was to bear the cost of the product but several years after, it was yet to pay for the product, a situation that propelled the union to close their stations.
But the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Deborah Aber, assured that the Governor Hyacinth Alia led administration has not rested on its oars to get the stations reopen.
When asked to explain why the state government has allowed the Benue people to suffer, the SSG explained that the withdrawal by the petrol dealers and closure of stations was sudden as government was not unaware of the problem which started in 2022 and that process for acceptable solution remained on course.
The SSG revealed that the union came asking for payment but government needed to look at the whole scenario because, it appeared to be pure criminal case of theft and vandalism.
She further explained that the state government was not involved in the act, but decided to hold meetings with the oil dealers to provide lasting solution to the issue, lamenting the shocking shut down of the petrol stations across the state amidst moderate efforts to get the problem resolved.
“We are having meetings and conversations with them. We spoke to the supposed owner of the goods, the company by name Ganaco Investment Limited today being the one that has lost the products.”
Aber insisted that Ganaco must be part of the meeting which the NUPENG leadership preferred to leave out the direct victim from the negotiations, expressing optimism for success of the dialogue and noted that a resolution would be reached after the day’s interface.
Mrs Aber, who acknowledged that the issue lingered unresolved for a long while, explained that the decision to reconstitute a fresh committee to address the matter became compelling on assumption of the duty and that the process believably guaranteed better understanding of the case in issue.
According to her, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other relevant agencies of law enforcement were requested to provide the details of the problem and the process of assembling those details were misunderstood by the oil dealers as delaying to end the crisis.
Officials of the union offered no comment but sources close to them believed that the delay to solve the problem forced the national headquarters of the union to takeover the matter and that the three days warning strike were authorized by the body seeking the accelerated action.
The informant disclosed that at expiration of the warning strike, it would become indefinite if the state government ignores the warning strike.
Speaking further, the informant blamed the government for the delay, insisting that the issue started in 2022 when the oil tankers owned by one of the union members got vandalized in Aliade, Gwer East Local Government Area of the state.
During the incident, the source revealed that a total of forty five (45,000) thousand cubic litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known also as petrol was stolen by the large crowd of hoodlums that vandalized the vehicle and left its owner in a helpless situation.
The source lamented that the act of vandalism was reported to the relevant security agents as well as the local and state authorities but arrests were not made in connection with the issue.
There was another confusion as the oil dealers failed to show up at the meeting venue scheduled for last Tuesday in the SSG’s office with other government officials even as the SSG stayed and left the venue after six o’clock in the evening.
As the problem is assuming a dangerous dimension with no end in sight, the Benue people are yet to know their fate as no one knows how soon the issue of deliberate scarcity caused by closure of filling stations in the state would be over.
