The Zamfara State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has condemned outrightly the current scarcity of fuel rocking the state, describing it as an artificial scarcity for accumulation of illegal wealth.
Speaking with Newsmen at the press center in Gusau, the state capital, the council chairman, comrade Bello Mohammed Boko said the fuel scarcity has negatively affected commerce due to the hike in the price of the commodity.
The chairman lamented that almost all the filling stations in the state are owned by the independent and major oil marketers in the state.
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Comrade Boko, therefore, urged the state government to as a matter of urgency act to stop the ugly development by ensuring that the regulatory bodies and security operatives force the major oil marketers to comply with the existing order, pointing out that the current situation has become an issue of public concern.
‘By curtailing the excessiveness of these independent and major oil marketers, the situation would be reversed for better. It is not true that there is scarcity of fuel in Nigeria but the dealers are hoarding the commodity,’ he added.
‘I expect the state government to act quickly to avert public negative reaction.’
‘The licenses of all the offenders of this crime should be seized and they should be brought to justice.’
According to him, the situation has become so worrisome to the innocent citizens which has forced the state council of the Union to make public statement in connection with the ugly development.
“It is very clear that Journalists everywhere in the world are the watchdogs of the society and the Zamfara council is very much concerned about the hardship being faced by the innocent citizens.”
The chairman who is the publicity chairman, state Task Force on security matters said that many offenders in this regard have been grilled for allegedly disobeying the security measures implemented by the state government.
He explained that the task force since inception has been monitoring all the filling stations in the state and the activities of the major oil marketers towards ensuring that the security measures remain in force.
‘But then, some people are so greedy and want to acquire wealth by all means at the expense of the common masses irrespective of the plight the common masses are passing through.’
The chairman wondered how some people in Nigeria would take pleasure seeing fellow human beings suffering for the crimes they did not commit, saying that this amounts to corruption which the government is yet to overcome.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK