Cross River Locals Lament Inability Of NNPC To Supply Kero For 13 Years

According a news report on Channels,There is a massive cry for help on Kerosine scarcity, following a strong law on wood cutting for domestic fuel in Cross River State, South-south Nigeria, residents in the state especially the rural dwellers have been forced to adopt the use of kerosene otherwise referred to as Dual Purpose Kerosene, for domestic uses.

Thirteen years and still counting, consumers of the product are being subjected to buying the product at overpriced rates ranging from as high as 100 Naira per liter to about 200 Naira as against the regulated pump price rate of 50 Naira per liter.The NNPC Calabar depot has reportedly not had kerosene to supply to marketers, for the past 13 years.

Hence, it has led to the hike of the sales of kerosene from dispensing centers that source their supplies from private depots from as far as Lagos, Rivers and other far away states into Cross River State.The Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, (Calabar depot), Michael Udofia, made this known to Channels Television on Tuesday.Across all the petroleum stations in the State including the NNPC, none sells at the government regulated rate except for the North West filling station which sells to its consumers at 50 Naira.

This usually leads to long queues as consumers troop there on designated days of the week to purchase the product which is usually not enough to satisfy the crowd.Decrying the arbitrary increase in the pump price of the petroleum product in the state, consumers have called on the government to avail depots efficient supply of the product and monitor the pump price rate which they pleaded to remain at 50 Naira.Individuals in some quarters have said that liberalising the system will open doors for competitors who in turn will ensure availability of the product.