17 December 2012, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, mega station on the Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Abuja for selling kerosene at N50 per litre.
A cross-section of the residents, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja, also lauded the government for making the product available at the station.
“I am happy to buy kerosene at N50 per litre; I used to buy it at N200 per litre at the black market.
“The price (N200) is too much and most Nigerians cannot afford it,” Mr Samuel Ako, one of the residents, said.
Ako, who described kerosene as an important and cheap source of cooking fuel, urged the government to ensure its availability at all times.
He also urged the NNPC to ensure that the citizens had unfettered access to kerosene, irrespective of where they lived.
Also speaking, Mrs Mary Musa, a housewife, commended the NNPC for making kerosene available, particularly before the Christmas period.
“I thank the management of NNPC mega station for the efforts made to ensure that the people are able to get kerosene at this critical period of the year.
“I am also pleased to note that kerosene is being sold at the approved price of N50 per litre.
“Although the stress in buying kerosene at the station is much; I will bear it because it is not easy to buy it at the black market price of N200 per litre,” Musa told NAN.
Mrs Maria Jimoh, who also commended the NNPC for making kerosene available and selling it at the approved price, however, criticised black market operators for selling it at exorbitant prices.
“Black marketeers selling kerosene should look for something else to do, instead of hoarding the product and making innocent Nigerians suffer unnecessarily,” she said.
The manager of NNPC mega station, Mr Steve Yohanna, promised that the station would always sell kerosene at N50 per litre.
Yohanna told NAN that NNPC management had devised a means of easing the suffering of the people who thronged the station daily to buy kerosene.
