ONITSHA—Anambra State government has introduced Kero-Direct scheme to cushion the effects of the hike in the pump price of kerosene in the state. Speaking to newsmen, yesterday in her office in Awka, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Oil and Gas, Mrs. Ngozi Okoye said the scheme was to make the product affordable to the poor masses in rural areas. Gov. Willie Obiano “There is a Kero – Direct scheme, which the governor, Chief Willie Obiano introduced to make sure that the product gets to the people of Anambra State at a cheap price. “We are supposed to get five trucks of kerosene every month but when l called NNPC at Abuja, they said the product was not available.” Okoye said that since the scheme started, the state government had only received three trucks that were distributed to the people of Oyi, Orumba, Anambra East, Ukpor, Enugu-Ukwu and Nnewi North at N50 per litre. She denied the allegation that her office diverted the product to certain places other than designated areas, describing the allegation as baseless and unfounded. She said frantic effort was being made to ensure NNPC continued to supply the state with the product, so that the scheme could continue. Okoye said the government had started sealing some petrol stations whose owners defaulted in the payment of N100,000 tax as agreed in a meeting between the IPMAN and government.