Major transport unions in Ogun State have commended the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun for setting up the Special Task Force to monitor the activities of filling stations over alleged sharp practices.
They noted that the gesture will help their members get value for their money, even as they cautioned members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to stop their attempts to blackmail the government.
It should be recalled that the state government had constituted a Task Force on Transport Control and Monitoring of Unethical Practices at Filling Stations to ensure that citizens are not overburdened with transport fares vis-à-vis excesses in the sales of petroleum products.
IPMAN, last week, reacted to the activities of the task force by threatening to withdraw fuel supply to the state, alleging harassment of its members.
The Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ogun State, Alhaji Mustapha Adewale, popularly known as Yaro, berated the reaction of IPMAN over the activities of the Task Force, saying such a reaction is out of place and unbecoming of a noble association.
He said instead of criticizing and threatening a showdown on the issue, the association ought to have painstakingly and diligently conducted an investigation to ascertain the veracity of allegations of sharp practices among its members in Ogun State, which necessitated the setting up of the Task Force to curb the menace.
The NURTW boss noted that the ultimate rationale behind the initiative by the Ogun State Government was to protect the people from crude extortion in the face of the current economic hardship in the land, adding that the association must support the good intentions of the government to sanitize the system against sharp practices.
“I am also a petrol dealer. I have filling stations across the state, and the government carried us along in the process that brought about the Task Force. The surreptitious extortion of the people by many filling stations around the state is very disturbing and annoying.
“You can imagine a situation where motorists get seven litres of fuel after paying for ten litres. In the case of commercial drivers, situations like this are responsible for hikes in transport fares, meaning that the people are the ones to bear the brunt of that anomaly.
“That is the reason the government of Prince Dapo Abiodun, being a sensitive and responsive government, came up with the Task Force to put a stop to this infraction in order not to add more burden to the people. It is a very laudable and commendable initiative that requires the support of all,” Alhaji Adewale said.
In the same vein, the Secretary of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Comrade Tiwalade Akingbade, also known as Paulo Rossi, criticized IPMAN over the development, arguing that there is no ground for their resistance to the activities of the Task Force unless they have ‘skeletons in their cupboard.’
Akingbade explained that the setting up of the Task Force was part of the frantic efforts of the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration to ease the burden of hikes in the pump price of PMS, ensuring that payment should commensurate with the volume of product and not the other way round.
He further said that the government in the state has done a lot to make life comfortable for the people and ameliorate the present economic predicament in the country through various interventions, including converting fossil fuel vehicles to CNG free of charge for many commercial drivers.
He said: “The original motive of the Task Force was to sanitize the system against some unscrupulous elements who are out to short-change the people, notwithstanding the harsh economic reality.
“How can one explain getting 25 litres of fuel instead of 30 litres? It is not acceptable, and IPMAN should diligently approach the Task Force to confirm the number and names of its members who have been apprehended for this infraction instead of threatening fire and brimstone without recourse to the reality and good intentions of the government in the state.”