Fuel scarcity resurfaces in Abuja as NNPC, NMDPRA blame restriction of movement during election
Oredola Adeola
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) have attributed the return of scarcity and fuel queues in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and other parts of the country to the restriction of movement during the recently concluded Presidential and National Assembly election which according to them necessitated truck drivers to travel to their different states to participate in the process.
NNPCL and NMDPRA made this known in separate statements confirming the return of the scarcity and stating measures put in place to address the looming crisis.
Garba Deen Muhammad, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, in a statement on Saturday revealed operations has resumed at the depots, adding that petrol trucks have been dispatched to various parts of the country after the election.
According to him, the appearance of pockets of queues in Abuja and some parts of the country, is largely due to restrictions in businesses and movement, to allow for the conduct of the presidential and NASS elections to enable Nigerians to exercise their civic right.
He said “However, operations have now resumed at the depots and trucks are being dispatched to various parts of the country. We expect normalcy to be restored in the next few days.
Garba-Deen further noted that the latest updates released on Saturday showed a total of 2.1 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) equivalent to 35 days sufficiency as of March 4, was in stock.
He also added that the NNPCL planned to close the month of March with about 2.8 billion litres, equivalent to 47 days of sufficiency.
The NNPCL spokesman said all its partners and stakeholders will continue to work together to ensure the seamless distribution of petroleum products around the gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
He however charged Nigerians not to engage in panic buying, insisting that the available stock is sufficient to go round.
The NMDPRA also in a statement signed by Engr. Farouk Ahmed, the Authority Chief Executive on Sunday assured Nigerians that operations in loading depots have fully resumed following the restriction of movement during the recently concluded Presidential and National Assembly election which necessitated truck drivers to travel to exercise their civic duty.
He confirmed that the NMDPRA is working with other stakeholders to mitigate the slight tightness being experienced in the distribution of PMS.
According to him, the current stock sufficiency stands at 53.39 days for PMS, 34,86 days for ago, and 31,36 days for ATK.
He assured that NMDPRA would continue to strive towards guaranteed supply and distribution reliability nationwide and strongly advises against panic buying.
