The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC they will work round the clock, 24 hours service, and adopt other measures to eliminate the current fuel scarcity in the country and also ensure steady supply of the commodity for the remaining period of the year. This is coming on the heels of return of normalcy to the Federal Capital Territory, as the large queues which were recorded at the beginning of the week thinned out, as most petrol stations are dispensing the products to motorists.
Speaking during the monitoring of petrol stations in Abuja, Managing Director of the PPMC, Mr. Umar Ajiya, stated that the NNPC and the PPMC had increased the daily trucking out of fuel to petrol stations across the country to over 1,300 trucks and was taking delivery of a minimum of one vessel load of fuel on a daily basis. According to him, each of the vessels contains over 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, which is far above Nigeria’s daily fuel demand of 35 million litres.
He said, “We have a robust supply plan; every blessed day, we have a minimum of one ship arriving Nigeria. Today (Wednesday), we received two ships, tomorrow we will receive a ship; day after tomorrow, we have two ships coming. That is the trajectory going forward, until the end of the year. One ship is an average of 50 million litres and the average consumption in Nigeria is about 35 million litres. In addition to that, we have massively increased our truck out. We cover 1,300 trucks a day. As you can see them arriving in several stations that we visited.”
Ajiya attributed the improvement in the fuel supply situation to hard work and the collaborative efforts among and the NNPC, PPMC, and their sister agencies, such as the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, oil majors, as well as the security agencies.
“By rising up to the challenge, we have moved our operations to 24 hours in all our depots, we have moved our products ourselves to all our affiliate stations on a 24 hours basis,” he explained.
In collaboration with the DPR, PPPRA and security agencies, Ajiya noted that surveillance and monitoring had been beefed up across the country and a directive had been issued that any depot or filling station found selling above the pump price and also hoarding products, would see their products dispensed to motorists free of charge.
Continuing, he said, “The genesis of the whole problem is the rumour of the planned increase of petrol price by the NNPC. We have since debunked that, there is no iota of truth in that, therefore, Nigerians should calm down; they do not need to rush to buy products and hoard, especially as it is unsafe to keep such products in their houses.”
Also speaking, Chief Operating Officer, NNPC Ventures, Mr. Babatunde Adeniran, disclosed that the corporation had put in place a robust plan to ensure steady supply for the rest of 2017 and beyond. He said, “Our hands are still on deck and we are looking at everything as it comes every day, so that the situation like this, where there is steady fuel supply, can continue in Lagos, Abuja and all over the country.”
In addition, Executive Director, Shared Services of the PPMC, Mr. Muhammed Mustapha, said the NNPC subsidiary would ensure continuous supply of the commodity to petrol stations across the country, while the General Manager, Group Security Department of the NNPC, Mr. Sam Otoboeze, also assured marketers that the NNPC would assist any petrol station in tackling any security challenge they might encounter in their quest to operate on a longer period or on a 24-hour basis.
In most of the petrol stations visited, the queues had disappeared, while motorists were seen purchasing the products with ease. Particularly, Station Manager, Oando Petrol Station, Mabushi, Abuja, Mr. Emmanuel Ebhoh, said fuel supply had improved and that the queues had thinned out, while he added that the station started sales today, with 40,000 litres and had sold about 20,000 litres as at 3pm when the NNPC and PPPRA team visited. At the Total petrol station at Wuse Zone 3, Abuja a truck was discharging 40,000 litres of fuel into the tanks, while the station manager, Mr. Patrick Okogo, said another truck was on standby to discharge.
He said once the trucks finished discharging, sales to motorists would commence, adding that the queues had reduced significantly from what was the situation three days ago. Also, at the AYM Shafa filling station at Apo, the Station Manager, Mr. Abdullah Sanni, said there is over 300,000 litres of fuel in its tanks, which is enough to meet the demands of its customers for three days. He said the station also has some trucks on standby waiting to discharge the product, adding that it is expecting additional supply tomorrow. Sanni noted that the queues witnessed in its station since Monday, had disappeared, as supply had improved.
