The Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) has commenced the sale of kerosene at N50 per litre to its host communities in Kaduna State but has set 25 litres as the maximum quantity to be sold to a family.

Managing Director of KRPC, Engineer Bolanle Ayodele flagged off the sale of the scarce commodity yesterday at Ejeg Filling Station, Ungwan Television in Kaduna. Ayodele, who was represented by the KRPC Manager PAD, Malam Abdullahi Idris, said that KRPC intends to provide 33,000 liters of kerosene to the people of its surrounding communities every month to alleviate their cooking and other domestic challenges.

He said the company is working with the leaders of the various communities to pick those to benefit from the largesse. Ayodele warned the beneficiaries not to sell the kerosene but to use it for the family, while urging them to avoid situations that could make them regret the purchase of the kerosene as it is volatile.

He said at the flag-off ceremony: “We are here at Ejeg Filling Station to kick-start the sale of kerosene, the most popular energy source, to the surrounding communities of KRPC. We realised that the masses are finding it difficult to source this product, so we decided to help them out as part of our corporate social responsibility. We are getting a specific amount of kerosene per month to be sold at Ejeg Filling Station.

“We have designed a coupon for those to buy the kerosene and we are working with the community leaders to ensure that the project is successful. We are sure of the quality of the kerosene and the 25 litres that you get for N3,500 you would now get at N1,250.”

Ayodele lamented that despite loading 70 trucks of kerosene daily, the product is still scarce and expensive, but appealed to marketers to stop diversion of and profiteering from the product.

In his remarks, the Managing Director of Ejeg Filling Station, Chief Benjamin Omale, commended KRPC and PPMC for the gesture while assuring that they will sell at N50 per litre. One of the beneficiaries, Monica Tanko, said the sale of the kerosene at the official price has helped reduce the burden on her family, as they usually travel long distances to get kerosene at a very high price of N700 per litre or use firewood as an alternative.

•Photo shows kerosene queues.

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