In a fresh move to boost distribution of petroleum products nationwide, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to locate its mega station in each senatorial district.
It was gathered that the corporation has begun a nationwide consultation with stakeholders with a view to drumming support for the planned expansion of its retail outlets across the country.
Under the plan, NNPC is seeking to expand the market share of its retail business to an appreciable level from the current 12 percent by building a mega station in every Senatorial district in the country in the months ahead.
Speaking at the kick-off of the consultation during the week, with a visit to the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment, Dr. Babatunde Victor Adeniran, who led the NNPC delegation said the purpose of the visit was to solicit support of Kaduna State government to provide lands for building new NNPC petrol stations in the state.
Our mission is to build three mega stations, one each in the three senatorial districts of the state. We need about five thousand square meters for each of the station. Each station will have six pumps including that of Liquefied Petroleum Gas which is cooking gas,” the GED stated.
Governor El-Rufai expressed gratitude to NNPC management for deciding to kick-off the outlets’ expansion programme in Kaduna State.
The governor who gave express approval for lands to be made available for NNPC for the mega stations said: “I want to assure you that we will give you all the support that you need. The State Director of Lands will take the NNPC project team round the state to look at alternative sites.
I don’t know how many you are building, we can give you as many as ten sites if you want.”
He stated that the supply of petroleum products is a key requirement for the prosperity of the country, expressing happiness that NNPC was ready to invest heavily in the retail business to ensure that Nigerians are not exploited by private sector marketers.
The governor pledged to support the NNPC in general and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in particular.
Speaking in similar vein during the consultative visit to Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje described NNPC as an indispensable business ally for socio-economic growth of Kano and the country at large.
“Indeed, collaborating with the NNPC is crucial if we are to achieve socio-economic development in Kano State. Being the largest in terms of population and also the commercial nerve center of the North, Kano has no better organization to have an alliance with than the NNPC,” Ganduje said.
He said he had already directed the Commissioner for Lands to work with the NNPC project team in selecting sites that meet the commercial requirement of the new filling stations in all the senatorial districts. “We know the philosophy behind establishing such retail stations. Considering that you are the custodians of crude oil and petroleum products in the country, one may wonder why you are into retail business. But those of us in governance understand the situation, because if you leave everything to the marketers, then the problem of control, especially of the price and availability, will become difficult,” he stated.
