Lagos and its environs was at the weekend once again put in state of distress as queues returned to filling stations after two weeks of temporary relief from fuel scarcity. This signals another excruciating weeks for motorists.
A check at various filling stations around Lagos metropolis yesterday showed motorists being forced to wait in long queues to fill their tanks in order to get ready for the weeks jobs.
Many of the filling stations along Ikorodu roads, Ikeja, Alapere and Ojota just to mention but a few were seen crowded by motorists and other Nigerians that wanted to buy in Jerry cans in order to power their generators for electricity supply in their homes.
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC told BusinessDay yesterday that the delay in the discharge of fuel was caused by some technical hitches experienced by the ship that brought the product.
Ndu Ughamadu, Group General Manger, Public Affairs, NNPC told BusinessDay that the situation would normalised by today
“The situation was a result of technical hitches which caused delay in the discharge of petroleum motor spirit to Lagos marketers”. Says Ndu Ughamadu, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, in phone interview with BusinessDay.
Ndu said that Lagos is being supplied majorly by members of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN) and that the situation is being rectified.
He said on Saturday below 200 trucks were supplied to Lagos and this was increased to 250 trucks on Sundaywhile between 250-300 trucks would be pushed out to Lagos from today.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had last week stated that it has deployed more of its depots and other throughput facilities to enforce the N133.28 Ex-Depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, to marketers directly.
Umar Ajiya, managing director of pipelines Products marketing Company (PPMC), was quoted as saying that the measure became necessary to resolve the price differentials between some of its stakeholders.
He noted that the throughput facilities along with some of its coastal depots would go a long way in ensuring that marketers access PMS at the approved government price.
He maintained that the corporation had adequate supply of petrol, advising against panic buying.
“As at today, I want to confirm that the NNPC/PPMC has more than 20 days sufficiency both at marine and land depots and we are still operating 24 hours at the depots and all NNPC Retail Outlets to wet the nation with PMS,” Ajiya reassured.
He added that the corporation received between one and two PMS laden ships per day, adding that there were days that the NNPC/PPMC took delivery of four cargoes of ship laden with petroleum products.
The PPMC boss stated that queues were easing out across the country going by feedbacks from the field and that most of the filling stations were selling at the approved price of N145 per litre.
He said the daily truck-outs from the depots had been increased from 1,733 trucks to 2000 trucks per day, adding that efforts are on to sustain the tempo in order to flood the market with PMS.
He called on marketers to desist from hoarding and diversion of petroleum products to neighbouring countries, stressing that the corporation was working hand-in-hand with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and other security agencies to sanction defaulting marketers
