The Sokoto State Government has reached an agreement with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to place a ban on the selling of petroleum products into jerry cans in all the filling stations across the state.
It also pegs the maximum amount of the product that can be purchased by motorists at a time at five thousand naira while motorcycles can only buy a maximum of five hundred naira at a go.
This is part of the agreement reached at the end of the stakeholders meeting of the association held at Sokoto Guest Inn, as part of measures put in place to checkmate the activities of bandits and other criminal activities in the state.
The chairman of the association, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, stated this while speaking with newsmen shortly after the stakeholders’ meeting.
Usman explained that the association took the decision as a measure to support the fight against bandits and other criminal activities currently spearheaded by the state government.
“The governor set up a task force to implement his executive order on insecurity and part of which is the ban on selling petroleum into jerry cans for anyone in the state.
“There is also an order to peg the maximum amount of the products at five thousand naira for motorists and five hundred naira for motorcycles respectively.
“We have notified all our members across the twenty-three local governments area of the state that any filling station selling for jerry can or selling above the recommended price will be prosecuted accordingly”
Earlier in his remarks, the state commissioner for commerce, Honourable Bashar Gidado, said the state government took the decision in order to discourage supplying the products to bandits in their hideout.
He said the present security situations in the country especially the Northwest region of the country, hence the need to cooperate with security agencies in dealing with the situations. He said some bad elements in the state supplying these products to the bandits which according to him is having a negative effect on the fight against banditry.
Gidado however assured that the state government will not hesitate to review the ban once security situations improve as expected.
Other members of the task force committee include the state attorney general, commissioner of police, state commandant of Nigerian Security Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC.
Others include representatives of the Nigerian Army, representatives of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).