NNPC, PPPRA move against fuel queues in Abuja

BOTH the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) are combining efforts aimed at ending the perennial fuel queues in Abuja.

Towards achieving the aim, the NNPC has raised a monitoring team charged with the responsibility of checking product diversion within the capital city.

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe in Abuja yesterday assured the public that the noticeable queues at fuel stations in Abuja and its environs would soon become a thing of the past as the corporation has increased fuel truck-out from the Suleja depot to Abuja to ease distribution challenges.

The corporation noted that the artificially induced distribution challenge in the Abuja was as a result of the few days lull in the loading gantries caused by the recently concluded general elections across the country.

While calling on members of the public to resist the temptation of hoarding, product diversion and panic buying of petroleum products, NNPC noted that it currently has enough products in strategic reserves to meet 30 days forward consumption.

The corporation noted that a special monitoring team has been deployed to check incidents of products diversion by some unscrupulous marketers and ensure that appropriate sanctions are brought to bear on such unpatriotic acts.

And from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), an assurance has also come to ensure steady and adequate supply of petroleum products across the country.

The Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Farouk Ahmed gave the assurance against the backdrop of fears of “shortfalls in supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).” Ahmed revealed that the PPPRA national petroleum products stocks data indicates that the country currently has a 46-day national products sufficiency.

This he said comprises both land-based stock of over 28-day sufficiency and marine stock of about 18-day sufficiency. He said daily PMS discharges by vessels were ongoing at jetties and depots nationwide and explained that currently, about 13 vessels are discharging petrol at various depots and jetties in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Okrika and Oghara, with another 16 more vessels at offshore Lagos waiting to discharge.

Ahmed reassured that trucking of products was ongoing at coastal depots following appeals made to the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO). adding that security agencies have also assured NARTO of the safety and security of their trucks and drivers.

While appealing to Nigerians to be calm and not engage in panic buying, the PPPRA Executive Secretary warned that the Agency will not hesitate to sanction any marketer or depot owner caught hoarding PMS.