Hundreds of motorists have been left stranded as a result of fuel scarcity in Abuja, after spending long hours at the filling station waiting to fill their cars.
Due to failure to buy the fuel from the filing station, some of the motorist resorted to buying it from the roadside sellers, which is sold for as high as N250 per litre instead of the official price of N87/litre.
Responding to the issue, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stated that there is enough fuel to keep the country in survival mode as it recently released about 688 million of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, into the market.
Stating this through the spokesperson for NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe on Sunday, March 1, 2015, the group promised that it is working to ensure that the situation is brought under control and assured Nigerians that the fuel supply situation will improve in the coming days.
He said, “On Friday, we had stated that in 48 hours we will wet the market with 688 million litres of petrol. Distribution of products is by trucking. You will agree that it is some distance from the depots and tank farms in the south to the depots and retail outlets in the hinterland. Expectedly, the queues should disappear before long.”
He also disclosed that the NNPC had informed the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, of the high prices by some petrol stations’ owners to carry out proper sanctions against them.
He said, “Panic buying has persisted in spite of our appeal to motorists. Secondly, some retail outlets are hoarding product by dispensing from only one pump head. We have reported some of them to the DPR and we believe appropriate sanctions will be meted out to them.
Also, a source in the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, disclosed that the scarcity currently being experienced in Abuja is as a result of people buying out of fear and not because of non-availability of petrol.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is currently in a bid to pay petroleum marketers their subsidy arrears which will commence in either February or March 2015.
Government have also promised to play a huge role in the scarcity issue. Motorists have been urged not to panic as this is just a temporary situation.
