Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said the volume of petroleum product in circulation will be enough for Nigerians till March 2020.
The Operation Controller, Ibadan Field Office of DPR, Mr. Oluyemi Olaonipekun, an engineer, disclosed this during a chat with journalists at the 2019 Christmas Carol organised by the DPR in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Monday.
Olaonipekun stated that the assurance was given to dissuade Nigerians from panic buying of petroleum product and stocking their houses with it, saying: “I want give Nigerians 100 per cent assurance that there won’t be shortage of petroleum product supply.
“If they take notice of what is happening within area of our operations, Ibadan in particular; since last year, there has been continuous loading of petroleum product from Ibadan Depot, which did not happen for about two to three years. As I am talking to you, we are loading from Ilorin too. Some of the stations that are very close to Ilorin don’t need to come to Ibadan because Ilorin Depot is now operational.
“I am also telling you authoritatively that the volume of petroleum product that we have in circulation can even take us beyond March 2020.
“There is product and Federal Government is ready to wet all filling stations within Nigeria to the maximum. So, I can assure you that there is enough supply. You don’t need to stock petroleum products in your house because it will never be scarce. And it will never be sold above the regulated pump price.
“The Federal Government has done a lot of work to ensure that there is no scarcity. In 2018, the Federal Government gave an assurance that there won’t be scarcity and there was no scarcity. The same Federal Government has also given the assurance this year. So, petroleum product will not be scarce.”
Olaonipekun, however, called the attention of Nigerians to the danger associated with stocking residential apartments with petroleum product, reminding people that the harmattan season has also begun, hence they must be wary of fire disaster.
He also stated that between January and December 23, 2019, the DPR sanctioned 169 filling stations, adding that larger percentage of the stations were punished for operating with expired licences, a few of them were sanctioned for issues that bordered on pump dispensing.
“We have been able to communicate our dislike and annoyance to the IPMAN (Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria) and major marketers that they know that by the end of the year, they are supposed to apply for whatever licence of their station that is due and get it. If you don’t have licence and you are operating, you are doing something that is not supported by the law.”