Hopes of early resolution of the current petrol scarcity brightened yesterday, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced plans to commence a 24-hour depot and retail services to improve product distribution. The strategy, if successfully implemented would clear the lingering fuel queues in Abuja, Lagos and several other states across the country.
NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Ventures and Chairman of the NNPC Special Task Force on Fuel Monitoring, Dr. Victor Babatunde Adeniran, made this disclosure to newsmen after an on-the-spot monitoring of the Corporation’s retail stations as well as those Major and Independent Marketers in Abuja.
Adeniran said the Corporation would always keep faith with its mandate of ensuring energy sufficiency, adding that it has taken adequate measures to normalise products supply situation in the country.
Speaking in a similar vein, the Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Umar Ajiya, said the NNPC took delivery of two cargoes on Wednesday with 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol as it expects to take delivery of a minimum of one cargo per day going forward. He said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) personnel have been deployed to all depots across the country to ensure that petroleum products are sold at the official price to marketers to avoid any shock in supply.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had last week given marching orders to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to resolve the crisis within few days.
But the queues have remained with NNPC the only importer of petrol products.
Independent marketers have reportedly halted imports as the price for refined petrol has increased in the international market.
However, NNPC has been contending with the challenge of distribution and had to come up the 24-hour operation strategy.