Headlines

Attack on Oyo secretariat treasonable felony — Commissioner

Published

2 weeks ago

24 April 2024

Attack on Oyo secretariat treasonable felony — Commissioner

The Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism in Oyo state, Dotun Oyelade, speaks with AJIBADE OMAPE on the recent attack on the state secretariat by Yoruba nation agitators.

What do you think fuelled the recent attack on the Oyo state secretariat?

I think apart from the misdirected nature of the agitation, you know, the only reason we can attribute it to is like they were hypnotised by someone who has a sweet tongue, and who probably has a little money to squander. So that is how we see it and this is our reading, and as we have said, we have since moved very swiftly. It happened on Saturday and two days later, they are being arraigned. That will tell you that this is a proactive government. We were not ready for it, we were shocked when it happened, but we needed to move fast, and we started moving right from the very first day, which was on Saturday.

What is the government’s stance on addressing the grievances of the Yoruba nation agitators while maintaining law and order?

Well, the first thing the government is looking at is the fundamentals. The fundamental is that in Nigeria of today, let us be truthful to ourselves, people are suffering due to no fault of theirs. And, you know, when you find a scenario like this, I am not saying that the government is doing its best at the federal level, because what is happening, the agitation is not against any state government, but against the general configuration of the nation. That is the reason for the agitation.

So, it has nothing to do with Oyo state, or with Osun state or Ekiti state. So, if we are able to ameliorate many of the sufferings of the people, then this kind of agitation may be nipped in the bud.

So, our government is not against anyone agitating, it is the manner of that agitation that we quarrel with. It is not possible for us as a responsible government to look the other way or to treat those who carry arms, with the intent of bloodletting. We can’t look the other way, nor can we treat them with kids’ gloves. So we have to apply the sharp edge of the law as provided for in our constitution to deal with them, and that is exactly what is playing out now. And they are sponsored. So I am saying that we will deal with them legally together with their sponsors.

You recently stated that those arrested are now 20, is there an ongoing effort to apprehend more people involved?

Well, in the first place, there is an update on the figure you gave, they are not 20, we now have 29 of them in custody, and all of them were arraigned in court on April 17th. So 29 people have been arraigned. You can rest assured that the administration will not follow the frenzy or any emotional sentiment in dealing with this issue. We will deal with it from the cold side of the law and follow exactly what the law says.

You were reported to have said that some of the agitators were arrested at a radio station while others were arrested at the statehouse. Is this emerging trend of agitation particularly concerning for the state government?

No, I wouldn’t think so. Yes, people do have preconceived grievances, rightly or wrongly, but we should not blow this out of proportion. As far as the Oyo state is concerned, this is a one-off incident that is being dealt with effectivel. They’ve been arraigned, 29 of them, and the case has been adjourned until August 1. The suspects have been remanded at the Agodi Correctional Center, here in Ibadan.

It has been confirmed that over 700 live cartridges, including seven awesome Pump Machine guns, were found in their custody, so this is a very awesome arsenal for ordinary people to gather together. Why will they bring such firepower to the secretariat which is the seat of government and the seat of our legislature?

The Commissioner of Police told me, and this should be well known to everybody that the state government is in total harmony with him that this is a classic case of treasonable felony. It is an act of terrorism, this is Yoruba land, the agitators were probably trying to make a statement by coming to the Oyo state house of assembly first, because we all know that Oyo state and Ibadan particularly is the political capital of the south-west. So that was probably their reason for coming here first off but they got it all wrong. We Yorubas don’t fight, especially in a climate we know we can hardly win. So whoever is pushing the agitators has pushed them to the crime of treasonable felony. It is also an act of terrorism. We are not saying the people should not agitate but it must be in a lawful manner.

You said that the government is not going to build a wall around the Secretariat, how then can the security personnel check those coming into the Secretariat to prevent a recurrence of this incident?

Well, I do not think that will be necessary. However, the security architecture surrounding government facilities will have to be on alert more than ever before, I think they are handling it very well and politely. Don’t forget that in Oyo State here, we have a Commissioner of Police, who has been very effective and cooperating with the government. We equally have aids to the governor, who are core professionals, we have two retired Commissioners of Police, you know, and they are anchoring this incident, and if you get to the secretariat, I’m in my office now, at the Secretariat, talking to you, and there has been free movement of traffic, and human traffic, all over the place. So, we are not planning, as I said earlier, to build a brick wall just because of an aberrative incident. So if you expect the governor to build a concrete wall around the secretariat of the governor’s office, that will not happen because we are in a democratic dispensation and the people should have unhindered access to the governor’s office, the legislature and the house of assembly as it is their property. The people in those offices were elected by the people. The important thing here is that a certain set of people have engaged in a failed enterprise, this is because agitations should not be by armed conflicts.

Was there any damage to the secretariat property as a result of the attack by the agitators?

Well, the damage is not the issue, but however, there is no substantial damage to the property. But the most salient issue we should address is the symbolism of the act, because when people have the effort to come to the seat of power, the secretariat where the governor is, and to the state house of assembly which is the seat of our legislature, without any major backup of any sort, and any legality, then we should be aware that something is wrong. Whoever encourages them to engage in an act of that nature has just made them commit a crime of treasonable felony and an act of terrorism. The implications are very clear, and the government must do what they have to do.

Apart from this agitation, are there other security threats facing the state, and how would you describe the overall security situation of Oyo State?

I will just borrow from the documented remarks of two security chiefs in Nigeria. One of them is the garrison commander of the Nigerian Army at two divisions here in Ibadan, who said two months ago, that Oyo State is the safest state in Nigeria as of today. He was quoted, we speak all the time, we spoke two days ago.

The second person I’m going to quote is the gentleman who said the same thing. He is Commissioner of Police, Bola Hamzat, who is the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State. He said more or less the same thing, noting that Oyo State is the safest state in the country and that the government is giving them all they need. So, Oyo State is the safest state in Nigeria, and we plan for it to be that way for a long time.

What is your assessment of the collaboration between security agencies and Oyo communities in combating crime and maintaining peace?

Yes, there is good collaboration. The kind of amity, unity, and symbiotic relationship that we have between the Amotekun Corps, Operation Burst, and the Nigerian police is unsurpassed anywhere, and it is because they are sufficiently motivated to do their job.

Headlines

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

Published

4 days ago

4 May 2024

Agency News

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation has blamed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country on panic buying and sharp practices by some petroleum marketers who are exploiting the present situation to make more money.

The company also vowed that the fuel queues across the country would end next week, noting that it had enough litres of fuel to end the scarcity.

Petroleum marketers, however, disagreed with the position of the NNPC, insisting that inadequate supply was a major reason for the persisting fuel scarcity.

Recall that on Tuesday, the NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, assured that the ongoing shortage in supply of petroleum products and queues for the products would be cleared by May 1.

According to him, the company had more than 1.5 billion litres of petroleum products available, enough to last for at least 30 days. He added that some individuals might be exploiting the situation to maximise profit.

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria had in a statement said its members in Apapa and other locations in Lagos had received 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels this week.

This was after the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Ayo Cardoso, also confirmed to The PUNCH that aside from the 240 million litres offloaded at various depots on Monday, close to 85 million litres of petrol was offloaded as of Tuesday evening.

Cardoso stated that the government was doing its best to ensure massive distribution of PMS, adding that the product would soon be available across the country.

According to him, each state of the federation had its allocations, saying the same will be delivered to reduce the queues at filling stations.

“As I said earlier, there will be enough fuel across Nigeria soon. We have received over 300 million litres as of Tuesday. More have arrived as we speak, but I can’t give you the figure. Vessels will keep arriving in Nigeria for 15 days, which started counting on Monday, and we will keep distributing the product across the nation.

“The masses should not panic; all these will soon vanish. We are not prioritising anywhere, each state has its allocation to be delivered accordingly,” Cardoso stated.

In the last few days, the queues and shortage of petroleum products worsened the living conditions of most Nigerians as they struggled to get the product.

Roads were deserted while some individuals parked their vehicles at various filling stations pending the availability of petrol.

Hoarding of the product had also been on the increase, as some took advantage of the situation.

Concerned, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) called on security agencies to pick up hoarders of PMS.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, explained that the oil firm currently had about three billion litres of petrol, as he blamed oil marketers and panic buying for the lingering queues.

“The queues are clearing. They won’t just clear like that, because people are trying to hoard, while others are buying what they don’t need. That is why we keep saying there is enough product; there is no need to buy what you don’t need.

“Also, you can’t exclude the marketers in this, as they want to use this opportunity to make more money. These are the issues, which is why we have involved the NMDPRA, because it is their duty to ensure that the right thing is done by these filling stations.

“Our job is to provide the product and we’ve told you that we have over 1.5 billion litres available. So, the NMDPRA should please do something about the distribution. It is not our job. We are not the regulator, and we don’t have power to sanction the filling stations that are not doing what they are supposed to do.”

Soneye said the NNPC had increased the volume of petrol in Nigeria and insisted that distribution by marketers was now the concern.

Stop blaming us for scarcity – Marketers to NNPC

Marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have, however, told the NNPC not to blame them for the queues in filling stations, saying they were not involved in sharp practices.

The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, wondered how the NNPC could shift the blame to marketers, who were not the importers of petrol.

Fashola said marketers could only hoard an available product, recalling how IPMAN had assisted in clearing off the queues in filling stations.

“That is far from the truth. You can only divert the product that you have. You don’t divert what you don’t have.

“On the issue of pricing, we are in a regime of partial deregulation. If you noticed, even before this crisis, we had different prices everywhere. That is another issue that cannot stand.

“On the issue of hoarding, you cannot hoard what you don’t have. It is not even making sense when you have fuel at this critical period, then you say you want to hoard it. So, that is not true too,” he said.

Asked if the marketers were now getting the product from the NNPC, the IPMAN leader said, “Let me use this opportunity to commend the NNPC, despite the fact that they want to put the blame on us. I think they’re trying their best to put the situation under control”.

Fashola added that independent marketers did not engage in sharp practices.

“We have already set up a task force within the IPMAN to make sure our people play according to the rules and regulations. We are a very disciplined organisation. We don’t do any sharp practices; we don’t condone that.

“If you remember, last week they told us it was a logistic problem, and we know what that means. So, why are they blaming marketers for the scarcity? We are not the importer, we are not in charge of shipment; we are not their clearing agent. We don’t even own our own depot. So, how can they blame us for that?” he asked.

Also responding to the NNPC’s allegations, the National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, debunked claims that the oil marketers were responsible for the persistent fuel scarcity.

Ukadike, speaking in a telephone interview on Friday night, stated that marketers established their businesses solely for profit and returns on investment, and would not create artificial scarcity, adding that the heavy capital and incurred bank charges did not allow for hoarding of the petroleum product.

He said, “We are the last in the distribution chain of supply. We break the box of NNPC, and as I am talking to you, IPMAN has over 20,000 filling stations scattered in the nooks and crannies of this country. We established our businesses to be able to maximise profit and have a return on investment.

“There is no sharp practice at all. Anytime there is inadequate supply of petroleum products, you would find out that independent marketers advertise and even go as far as washing vehicles’ tyres and windscreens and instructing our pump attendants to sell petroleum products, because we believe in turnover. The kind of money we are using to buy products, around N40m, is too huge for someone to hoard. We even incur bank charges.

“There is no way we can hoard products. Once they are given to us, we sell them as quickly as possible.

He added, “We are ready to sell for 24 hours if security is provided for us and financial support is also given to us. As an official, I can tell you that we are not involved in any sharp practice. Once petroleum gets to us, we will sell to consumers, because we interface with them and we know how it feels when product is scarce.”

The official further called on security agencies to wade off street urchins profiteering from the scarcity.

“I won’t also say that there are no people, such as street urchins, who take advantage of the situation to engage in sharp practices, using their vehicles to buy petroleum product and then distribute to jerry cans for profiteering. We are aware of those issues, and the national president of IPMAN has advised that marketers should involve security agencies to wade off all those persons standing in front of their filling stations.”

Also speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, said even though sharp practices existed within the oil sector, it should not be blamed majorly for the fuel scarcity in the country.

He said, “There are many reasons. I don’t doubt that some sharp practices are going on, but it is too simplistic to say that is the cause of the scarcity. So, I don’t believe that they (NNPCL) will say that.”

“I do not believe they said so. I do not doubt that there may be some sharp practices here and there, but I do not believe the NNPCL would say so.”

Explaining the cause of the scarcity, he said, “I have said it is logistic challenges. There are many other problems, but the immediate cause can be classified under logistic challenges.”

To solve the prevailing fuel scarcity, he said the government should “flood the markets with the products.”

“If you wake up and they say there is no product in Nigeria, then you can call or hold NNPC responsible. But now, the custodian of the stock is the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and they have not said that we don’t have products. When Nigerians should hold us responsible is when there is no product. But, there is product in excess.

“The 1.5 billion litres we said about four days ago has increased, because we’ve added more vessels and we are going to make almost three billion litres available. So, distribution should be looked into by the NMDPRA.

“When the regulator sanctions some stations, it will make others sit up and do the right thing. But, as NNPC, we don’t have the power to sanction any station,” Soneye stated.