Owners of petrol stations across major towns in Benue have defied government directive to sell petrol at the new pump price of N86.50k per lire.
An investigation conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Makurdi showed that major and independent marketers in the state were selling the product at between N120 and N130 per litre.
When contacted, Mr Benjamin Ewuga, the controller,
Department of Petroleum Services (DPR) in charge of Benue and Nasarawa states, told NAN that the situation in the state was aggravated by politics.
He described the situation as being “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.’’ Ewuga said that while the department wanted closure of defaulting petrol stations, the government was opposed to such measures for political considerations.
He explained that the government was afraid that closure of defaulting petrol stations would not only aggravate fuel scarcity, but could also lead to increase in the prices of goods and services.
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