The Imo State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and the Niger Delta Youth Forum have called for the immediate sack of the South East Zonal Controller of the Department of Petroleum Resources.
The youths called for the immediate sack of the controller over the failure of the organisation to reduce the price of fuel in the state.
They called for the sack in a peaceful protest, holding placards with various inscriptions, at the entrance of the DPR office in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Monday.
Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of the NYCN, Isidore Chukwuemeka, alleged that the continued sale of fuel at N250 was a conspiracy between the marketers and the DPR.
Chukwuemeka lamented that no petrol station had been sanctioned or shut down though they were selling above the recommended pump price.
Also, the President of Niger Delta Youth Forum, Ezekwesili Nwauwa, a lawyer, alleged that the DPR had not done anything to regulate fuel prices.
Nwauwa lamented that this had caused untold hardship on residents of the state as the prices had also led to increase in the cost of public transportation.
Responding, the South East Zonal Controller of the DPR, Peter Ijeh, said the DPR had been actively trying to reduce the cost of fuel in the state.
Ijeh said the DPR had ensured that petrol stations sold at the recommended price of N145.
He said: “Imo State DPR is doing very well and people outside the State have called to commend our efforts.
“We go out and make rounds of the fuel stations in the State and those that refuse to comply are shut down.”
Ijeh also denied allegations of collaboration with the marketers to sell petrol at N250 per litre.
He said: “There is no way we can collaborate with petrol marketers to sell above the recommended pump price.
“It is not possible.”
He however noted that the marketers changed their prices after the staff of the DPR had left, adding that such stations were usually sanctioned.
The controller said though they did not have enough staff on ground to ensure compliance, those on operation were performing excellently.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some petrol stations in Owerri have continued to sell for as much as N250 and above for a litre of fuel.