The Department of State Services (DSS) has given a 48 hour ultimatum to stakeholders in the petroleum sector to end the scarcity of petrol being witnessed in parts of the country.
DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunnaya, disclosed this when he briefed journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, on the outcome of a meeting between the agency and stakeholders in the oil sector.
He said the DSS decided to wade into the development in national interest as it would not sit back and allow some individuals or group of persons distabilise the country through hoarding of petrol.
Afunnaya stated that during the meeting, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited disclosed that it had about 1.9 billion litres of petrol in stock which would last for the period of yuletide and long after.
He, therefore, warned that at the expiration of the ultimatum, the DSS would commerce nationwide operation to ensure that the products are made available, adding that it would no longer be business as usual.
“It is the mandate of the Service to detect and prevent threats to national security, this is why the Service has to summon the stakeholders meeting in the oil and gas sector to find a lasting solution to the problem before it snowballs to a crisis,” he stated.
Some of the stakeholders at the meeting, according to Afunnaya were NNPC Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), depot operators and National Association of Transport Owners, (NATO).
