By: OUR CORRESPONDENT
To most Nigerians, one organization that is unlikely to make the list of the nation’s corporate economic saboteurs or perpetrators of misery against Nigerians is BOVAS. The company has successfully built for itself a shining and patriotic image across the country.
Unfortunately, certain station managers employed by the company are doing everything contrary to what the organization stands for. One of such bad eggs is the management of the BOVAS filling station located along Federal Poly Road, Oke-Ureje, Ado-Ekiti.
Motoring World investigation reveals that, for about two weeks, most of the fuel delivered to the station has been sold at night to the black market fuel merchants, who in turn sell to Nigerians at exorbitant prices, thereby sabotaging efforts made by the government to end the fuel scarcity.
On a daily basis, with no light on, they fill 100s of 25-liter jerry cans in the dark. Times they do it varies. Initially, it used to be from 8 pm. But to avoid being found out, the station’s manager allegedly varied the black market sales time between 1 am – 2 am, 3 am-4 am and 4 am -5 am. Sales duration, however, depended on the number of jerrycans taken in. For instance, on Saturday, 5th March 2022, the black market sale lasted from 4 am to 6 am, after which the manager was said to have gone home and did not return until 9 am after which they resumed selling to motorists.
During the day, black market operators, who had deposited money and jerrycans the previous day, are phoned up to inform them that their “consignment” was ready. That was why, during the day, certain vehicles are let in through the exit gate or via the church gate behind the station. They drive straight to the alignment/quick service section from which jerry cans are loaded and they drive off.
For the past two weeks, the station gets tanker supply virtually every day, aside a day, when they claimed one of the trucks had a breakdown on the road and so missed a day without supply. Yet the fuel queues get longer.
On a daily basis, the station allegedly sells 100s of 25-liter jerrycan of fuel to black-market fuel dealers, charging as much as N1000 on each jerrycan. Therefore, from the sales to black marketers at night, the station Manager and his collaborators allegedly made about N0.5 million daily.
Motoring World investigation reveals that the black marketers deposit their jerry can in all available rooms inside the station during the day, including the store behind the quick service/alignment center. Depending on when it receives supply, the station sells to cars only between 9 am and 6.20 pm during which sales into jerrycans are strictly forbidden. The policy was, however, broken on Sunday (6th March 2022), when they resumed sales into jerrycan, going as far as selling to a black market dealer 16 jerrycans of fuel, while motorists were waiting with anxiety on a long queue.
To reduce how much fuel is sold in the daytime, few nozzles are used. As queues get longer, vehicle owners, who had allegedly paid some bribe, are let in through a back gate leading to a Church building behind the station, which also links into the station.
From about 6 pm, the station stops selling fuel. As the darkness creeps in, station lights are switched off.
When the black market business started about two weeks ago, the Motoring World investigation reveals that they used to resume sales into Jerrycans from 8 pm. The place remains dark. The gate remained shut. It was at this point that all earlier deposited jerry cans were filled with fuel to be sold later at black markets.
Mr. Adepoju, a Lagos-based motorist and staff of Ekiti State University narrated to our correspondent his experience on Saturday 5th March 2022:” I arrived the station before 4 am the time I learnt fuel sale would begin.
“I joined the queue. But rather than sell to cars, from 4 am, they sold only to jerry cans, most of which appeared from nowhere. And by 6 am, the manager stopped the sales and, according to the attendants, went home to rest. But I had no choice but to wait until the manager arrived at 9 am and fuel sale resumed, but this time only for vehicles. I did not buy fuel until 12 noon. Imagine queuing for fuel for about 8 hours. “
Another victim, Mr. Awoleye, who eventually bought fuel at BOVAS Oke Ureje at about 2 PM 3rdrd March 2022 after queuing for 3 days also narrated his ordeal to Motoring World: “Last week, I queued at BOVAS for fuel. But they refused to sell to jerry can. Because I needed fuel badly to run my generator and you can’t draw fuel from my SUV, I complained to the manager, who told me point-blank that he can’t sell jerrycans, because it was an order from the above. He even added that any manager found doing contrary would be sacked and that he doesn’t want to lose his job. So I left the station for the newly opened MATRIX near Ado Grammar School, where I joined the queue and got fuel for my jerry can without a problem.
“This week Tuesday, I returned to BOVAS to fuel my car. My experience was disappointing. I found out they actually sell into jerrycans. But they do it during the night. How did I know? I queued from 8 am on Wednesday till they got tanker delivery at about 3 pm. Even though there were less than 10 cars in front of me, sales stopped when my car was right in front of the gate. I went to plead with the manager, but he said his normal closing time was 6 pm and so he could not do otherwise, adding that if I left my car where it was and came back the following morning, I would be the first to be served.
“To my shock, when I arrived at about 6.45 am the following morning, my car had been forcefully moved and shoved sideways and many motorists blamed me for blocking the entrance with my car, as the station sold to motorists from 5 AM to 6 AM, after it finished filling up jerry cans from 4 am to 5 am. I eventually bought fuel after about 1 pm. unfortunately, what the manager of that station is doing is not good for the good reputation BOVAS has built across Nigeria. I hope the owner would get to know this.”
Contrary to what the public knows about BOVAS, Motoring World found that certain unscrupulous station managers have, during the scarcity period, perpetrated acts amounting to sabotaging efforts made by the federal government to end the scarcity. Rather than sell fuel to orderly members of the public, they use only a few nozzles, thereby generating long queues, selling less during the day, and reserving most for black marketers at night, who would, in turn, sell to members of the public at exorbitant prices.
Queuing motorists even revealed to our correspondent that a Dangote truck allegedly loaded jerry cans filled with fuel from that station on the 3rd March 2022.
Doubtless, this is not the kind of story that Madam Victoria Samson, the company’s Managing Director would ever like to read about. For it is well known that the company, as a matter of policy, does not tolerate negative business vices. Even when, in past years, there was scarcity and filling stations were hoarding fuel, BOVAS was known to keep its gates open to the motoring public and alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Therefore, as rightly put by a staff of Ekiti State Ministry of Works, who spoke to our correspondent in anonymity, “Unless the management/owner of the reputable company does something quickly, the likes of BOVAS, Oke Ureje, in Ado-Ekiti would turn to shred the good image of the company, which is reputed to have always been on the side of the public, when it comes to service. “
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