On Tuesday, the Osun State Government threatened to close down any petrol outlets that were hoarding fuel.
This was said in a statement signed by Olawale Rasheed, the Governor of the state’s press office.
During his inaugural address at Eagle Square on Monday, shortly after his inauguration, President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy.
Any fuel station found guilty of hoarding fuel to create artificial scarcity shall be sealed off and operators prosecuted for the crime of economic sabotage,” Adeleke said.
It added that the removal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu has caused unnecessary hardship for the people of the state.
“This deliberate action is not only inhumane but unpatriotic and will not be allowed by the government. To this end, the Special Monitoring Team on fuel scarcity set up by His Excellency, Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke headed by the Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Akinleye is still effective and shall not condone any form of economic sabotage.
“As from today, May 30, 2023, the Committee shall begin special monitoring of all the filling stations across the state in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders,” it added.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, however, has backed Tinubu’s decision to end the fuel subsidy.
Mele Kyari, the company’s CEO, said that a sizable amount of the company’s profits were going towards the product subsidy.
He informed Nigerians, nevertheless, that they didn’t need to buy in a frenzy because the corporation had enough merchandise to last the nation for the following 30 days.
