Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri, has taken steps to arrest the sudden rise in the price of food items and petroleum products in the state.

Governor Diri, after separate meetings with the state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Petroleum Owners Association Of Nigeria (PETROAN), and market union leaders, Wednesday in Government House, Yenagoa, announced the setting up of two committees comprising of government officials and the marketers and traders respectively.

He said the meetings were convened to address the arbitrary increase in the price of petroleum products and goods in the state and cautioned against plunging the state into another crisis while it is grappling with the flooding challenges.

He said government would bear the cost of security and transportation of the product in barges while the marketers will pay for the product.

According to him, the government got worried when it received reports that a litre of premium motor spirit was being sold for N800 above the approved pump price of N180.

Members of the petroleum committee include a House of Assembly member, Oforji Oboku, the Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Dr Jones Ibieri and his counterpart in the Transport Ministry, Grace Ekiotene.

Others are the Federal Coordinator, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Godwin Iruafemi, State Chairman, IPMAN, Mr. Ere Erefamote as well as two other members each from the associations.