Fuel Hoarding: Borno Gov Vows To Revoke Lands Of Unpatriotic Fuel Marketers

The Borno State government has vowed to revisit the state land use Act of 1978 in order to take measures that will address the exploitation of citizens by some petroleum marketers in the state.

The government also frowned at what it described as the “economic sabotage by the unpatriotic marketers.”

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Governor Babagana Zulum stated this on Friday when he hosted a meeting of oil industry’s key stakeholders in the state in an effort to address issues of fuel hoarding.

The stakeholders are officials of the Department of Petroleum Reaources (DPR) Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) all of who came on the governor’s invitation.

According to Zulum in a statement on his facebook page on Saturday, although the Borno state government was not responsible for regulation of petroleum products marketers, the state has its tool under the land use Act of 1978, saying that the act has empowered the government to not only own land but ensure legitimate use of such based on best practices.

“Exploiting citizens is certainly not a legitimate use of land in Borno state and we cannot fold our arms as government. We have given some directives to revisit the land ownership status of some filling stations because of their practices that are not in compliance with DPR’s regulations and we will not hesitate to take measures that will be in the overall interest of the public” Zulum warned.

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The meeting, according to the statement, discussed issues around the distribution of products with a view to protecting citizens.

Zulum commended the efforts of the DPR’s regional office in Maiduguri for its works in trying to enforce best practices amongst marketers.

He also announced plans by the state to establish 4 mega filling stations that would help in boosting distribution of products without threatening the investments of independent marketers.

He further said three filling stations belonging to the state government would be revived to commence operations so as to meet demands of growing population.

Zulum reassured that his administration would do everything possible to protect the rights of citizens and improve their well being.

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The governor expressed his willingness to work with all marketers and other stakeholders across to ensure adequate supply of products based on fair trade.

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