From Uche Usim, Abuja
Abuja and Lagos residents may smile again soon as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, has assured that the horrific petrol scarcity in the two locations would vanish in three to four days’ time, as all logistics challenges and supply disruptions responsible for the nightmare have been addressed.
Kyari made the disclosure in an interview with Arise News on Sunday after paying Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, the government has also resolved issues around pricing as President Muhammadu Buhari has used his discretion to insist that petrol sells at N165/litre.
He said: “First of all, there are issues around supply disruptions, we are overcoming them, we have resolved them, and in the next three to four days, people will see relief and fuel queues will vanish.
“As we all know, there are no fuel queues in most parts of the country except Lagos and Abuja and we understand the real logistics issues and I am confident within the next two to three days, this will vanish.
“The President has authorized his discretion, and the right decision to increase the cost of transporting fuel by N10, that means transporters will be able to take product from any depots to the furthest fuel station without any delay.
“We also acknowledge that there are some facing logistic challenges, particularly in the marine sector we are resolving them, and convinced that prices will normalise very soon”, he explained.
Abuja residents have battled a terrible energy crisis in recent months as petrol and diesel scarcity ground various businesses.
Motorists now chase petrol tankers on the highway to know filling stations to queue in.
Those who cannot queue are forced to buy a litre of petrol at N350/litre on the average.