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NNPC dismisses fuel scarcity fears, says 1.7bn litres in store
By Joseph Ayinde
The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, has allayed fears of fuel scarcity, saying there are 1.7 billion litres of fuel stored and 2.3bn litres coming soon.
Kyari’s statement followed recent media reports of a resurgence of queues at petrol stations in some parts of the country after the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) raised the alarm that private depot owners had increased the price of petrol by N9/litre.
The GMD, who spoke virtually from Glasgow on Tuesday at a conference organised by the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), also explained why the federal government was demanding energy justice at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
“As we speak now, there is speculation of fuel scarcity within the media but we have over 1.7bn litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the country.
“We have another 2.3bn litres coming in, so there is no shortage in supply as is being speculated.
“Of course, there are issues about pricing at some depots but the government has no plan to revise the pricing structure,” he said.
Our reporters observed that while there are no queues at the major filling stations in Abuja, some others like Shema and Conoil have already shut down operations as they have run out of stock.
Meanwhile, for those operating, they have raised the pump price from between N162 and N163 as of Monday to N165 on Tuesday. The situation was similar in Lagos with no pronounced queue and fuel stations selling between N163 and N165, within the government approved price band.
However, NNPC in a statement, urged the public to shun panic buying of petroleum products, saying there is enough stock that will last the festive period and beyond.
Garba Deen Muhammad, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the corporation was also engaging all stakeholders to ensure smooth supply and distribution of products to every part of the country.
