The Department of State Services (DSS) has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and oil marketers a 48-hour ultimatum to make Premium Motor Spirit (better known as petrol) available across the country.
Briefing journalists at the headquarters of the secret police in Abuja after over three hours closed-door meeting with stakeholders in the petroleum sector on Thursday, DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya said that failure to comply would lead to DSS activating its operations across the country.
According to Afunanya, the challenge of fuel scarcity has assumed a dimension that is detrimental to the security of the country.
He said that during the meeting, the NNPC agreed that there is enough product that would serve Nigerians during and after the Yuletide season.
For weeks, vehicle owners especially in Lagos and Abuja have had a tough time getting petrol from filling stations. Whilst many outlets are closed, the few ones that are open sell the indispensable commodity for as high as N250 per litre from the uniform price of N169/litre.
The shortage of supply has led to long, grueling snake-like queues at the few open filling stations as motorists and business owners jostle to buy fuel while others resort to black market. The situation has also worsen traffic on major roads as vehicle owners block at least one lane to join queues to filling stations.
Source: Channels Television
