Fuel scarcity persists in Ondo, as petrol remains N220 per litre
From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko yesterday prevailed on members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), to jettison their planned reprisal on Fulani herdsmen in the state in the interest of peaceful and harmonious co-existence.
The governor held a crucial meeting with members of the OPC from all the 18 local government areas in the state and stressed the need for all the residents of the state to live together peacefully irrespective of their ethnic and tribal affiliation.
He appealed to the leadership of the OPC to sheathe their swords against Fulani herdsmen and allow peace to reign in the state and the country at large.
Members of the OPC had threatened to launch a reprisal attack on the Fulani herdsmen in the state and Yoruba land at large following the alleged killing of a security guard attached to the farm of the former secretary to the government of the federation, Chief Olu Falae, in Akure at the weekend by Fulani herdsmen.
The OPC also threatened to make life unbearable for all the Fulani herdsmen living in the state until the killers of their late member, Ayodele Ige are apprehended.
But, Dr. Mimiko, who initiated the peace meeting with the OPC members, said he has formally reported the matter to the Federal Government and assured that the killers of the late OPC member would be fished out by security operatives.
He said both the state and federal governments would find a lasting solution to the incessant attack by Fulani herdsmen in both the state and the country at large.
The governor admitted that the attack by Fulani herdsmen was a visible attack on the people and stressed the need for all Fulani herdsmen in the state to live in peace and harmony.
He assured that security operatives in the state including officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Police are already on the trail of the killers of the late OPC member, promising that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.
Meanwhile, the hardship being experienced by Ondo residents, especially motorists, following the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol has continued.
This is even as a litre of petrol is being sold at N220 by the few filling stations that have the product in Akure, the state capital and other major towns and cities in the state. Most of the filling stations in the state had since last week been selling petrol at the rate of N220.00 per litre, a situation which has brought untold hardship to many residents of the state.
Findings revealed that many industries in the state have stopped operation following power outage and scarcity of fuel, just as many shop owners who rely on fuel for their day to day operations have locked their shops. Also, many commercial transporters in the state could no longer operate as a result of the scarcity of fuel and hike in the price of the product.
Daily Sun also gathered that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) mega stations in Akure have stopped selling petrol, complaining there’s no product to sell.