Bayelsa Resident groan under N205 fuel price as Govt, IPMAN warn against arbitrary increase in fuel price

Residents of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital are groaning under the arbitrary increase of the pump price of fuel from N163 per litre to N205 in some petrol filling stations in the state.

While some of the accused filling stations display N163 as pump price, the metre is allegedly adjusted to pump between N180 to N205. The woes of the residents of the Bayelsa State capital is compounded by the non-availability of power supply from the Power Holding Electricity Distribution Company.

Leadership visit to some filling stations showed cases of hoarding of the petroleum product, arbitrary increase in fuel price and night selling to operators of Black Marker along the Expressway in the state capital.

Reacting to the development, the Bayelsa State Government through the Special Adviser, Oil and Gas to the State Governor, Hon. Franklin Otele and the State leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) led by its Chairman, Hon. Bello Bina, warned that the action of most filling stations in the state, particularly in the state capital, Yenagoa, was unjustifiable.
According to IPMAN, members in Bayelsa and other States of the Niger Delta against arbitrary increase in the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly referred to as petrol, “the noticeable arbitrary increase from N163 to N203 in some filling stations in the state capital is a gross abuse of the rights of the people and criminal”.

Hon. Bello Bina, who said the IPMAN has not received any official communication on the purported fuel price increase, directing its members and the residents of the state to ignore any the price hike,”Members are directed to continue selling the litre at the same N163, insisting that whenever there is fuel increment in the country, critical stakeholders will always inform the IPMAN leadership. He, therefore, urged the general public not to panic as the association has no intention to inflict hardship on the people”.

He also announced that the IPMAN in Bayelsa will set up a monitoring team to visit some accused petrol stations in Yenagoa to gather evidence of allege hoarding and illegal sale of fuel at outrageous prices, ”the report will form evidence against the management of such petrol stations.He assured the residents of the state not to panic as the supplies being made by the NNPC is enough to feed the state and avoid panic buying..

Also speaking, the Special Adviser, Oil and Gas to the State Governor, Hon. Franklin Otele,also warned against the illegal and arbitrary increase in the pump price of petroleum products by independent fuel marketers in the state,”the government was not aware of any official price adjustment and that the action of most filling stations in the state, particularly in the state capital, Yenagoa, was unjustifiable”.

“It is disheartening to note that most of the filling stations had unilaterally jacked up the pump price for petrol to between N197 and N210 naira per litre across the state, thereby causing panic among the unsuspecting customers. He urged the leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), to call its members to order as any erring filling stations would be sealed-off.

Hon. Otele, also called on members of the public and consumers to remain calm as relevant officials of the state government are liaising with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and other stakeholders including fuel marketers to immediately address and resolve the matter.

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