Fuel scarcity: Bayelsa approves N230 per litre

The Bayelsa State Government has directed filling stations in the state to sell petrol not more than N230 per litre against the the national price of N165.

It said the fixed amount is to ensure availability of products until fuel scarcity ends, NAN reports.

This was disclosed on Thursday by the Deputy Governor of the state, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who inaugurated a monitoring team for pricing and distribution of petroleum products.

He assured that the government was taking steps to manage the situation and directed that no consumer should get more than 25 litres in a jerrycan

Ewhrudjakpo lamented that the state had the least allocation of petrol from the Nigerian National Petroluem Corporation (NNPC).

He noted that the state’s payment of the same amount for fuel subsidy as states with bigger allocation was robbing Peter to pay Paul.

He urged the Federal Government to fix it by ensuring that each state paid for fuel subsidy based on the volume of petrol consumed, or number of trucks allocated to it every month.

The deputy governor, however, disclosed that Bayelsa would consider constructing a fuel depot due to the unavailability of fuel.

In his remark, Chairman, Bayelsa State Petroleum Taskforce, Richman Samuel, said negotiations brought down the price from N300 per litre to N230.

He appealed to marketers to maintain the fixed price, adding that the taskforce had been working with other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the situation was brought under control.

The monitoring team is made up of men of the Bayelsa Petroleum Taskforce, the Bayelsa Field Office of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, including security agencies.