Yuletide: Don’t fleece consumers, PPPRA tells oil marketers

From Uche Usim, Abuja

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on Thursday warned oil marketers to shun unwholesome practices, especially selling above approved threshold, in order not to turn the Yuletide celebrations into a painful experience.

It also assured Nigerians of sufficient availability of petroleum products throughout the Christmas season.

The Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Mr Abdulkadir Saidu who stated these in a statement also revealed that the average stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, for both inland and marine between 12th and 18th December 2020 stood at 2,230,400,000 litres, this translates to 39.83 days sufficiency.

“The country also has a total average volume of 623,080,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel with 44.51 days’ sufficiency, which signals good news for luxurious buses that are expected to dominate long travels during the festive season.

“In addition to petrol and diesel availability, Nigeria has 25 days sufficiency of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) with a total of 75,780,000 litres and 34.18 days sufficiency with a total of 25,293,200 litres of Household Kerosene (HHK) for domestic use.

“The PPPRA advises Marketers to operate within the confines of the rules guiding operations in the downstream and shun unwholesome practices that could cause Nigerians untold hardship during the festive period and beyond”, he added.

Saidu noted that the Federal Government remains intensely focused on executing the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP); its gas masterplan that will result in many fuel retail outlets being able to dispense gas to motorists in the new year.

“The NGEP Autogas rollout of 1st December, 2020 and the ongoing motor vehicle tank conversion exercise at various centres, herald the proliferation of a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol for Nigerians.

“With growing investor confidence in the country’s petroleum downstream catalyzed by the deregulation policy and concerted efforts in actualizing the Year of Gas, the PPPRA would like to, once again, assure all Stakeholders that the vision for a vibrant, self-sustaining downstream sector remains a priority and we are working tirelessly to achieve this”, he added.