Amid fears that there could be fuel scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has advised motorists and other petroleum products consumers not to engage in panic buying, saying there is enough petroleum products stock in 55 depots across the country.
Listing the depots that have adequate petroleum products stock, Ndu Ughamadu NNPC group general manager, group public affairs division, in a statement said 23 depots in Lagos, seven in Port Harcourt, 11 in Warri, six in Calabar and eight in Kaduna were fully stocked with white products.
But some marketers say it is only the depots the NNPC has a throughput arrangement that have fuel, and that even the fuels in those depots are being rationed. They say what the NNPC has succeeded in doing was to ensure that it retail outlets were not starve of supply while other companies are completely left out of the supply arrangement.
However, the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has also confirmed the claims by NNPC as Clement Isong, the executive secretary of the association, told BusinessDay that all members of MOMAN had stocks as at last weekend.
The NNPC explained that two vessels of 50 million litres of petrol would arrive the shores of Nigeria every day from the weekend.
The release assured Nigerians of an eventful Easter period as the just ended Yuletide, even as it cautioned depot owners or terminal operators not to sell petrol above the official ex-depot price of N133.28k per litre.
The corporation also advised petroleum products marketers not to sell the product above N145 per litre.
The release said the subsisting ex-depot petrol price of N133.28k per litre was consistent with the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s (PPPRA) template and should be adhered to.
The corporation advised Nigerians to remain vigilant and volunteer information to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the industry regulator, or to any law enforcement agency around them, on any station selling petrol beyond N145 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State government had pledged to support Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline Project to ensure effective optimisation of the project by stakeholders across the state. This is as the NNPC moves to increase domestic gas supply from 1.5bscf/d to 5bscf/d.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State declared the support while receiving Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.
Governor El – Rufai described the AKK project as a very important one to the state, noting that the people of Kaduna were happy because the project would support the state’s ‘huge power ambitions.’
“Already, we have gone ahead by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OCIP of Morocco for the development of a fertiliser plant in Kaduna State.
“As soon as the gas is here from the AKK Pipeline project, it will open up many possibilities. Therefore, we are ready to support you in whatever way we can,” the governor said.
He also said the state would welcome the emergence of more Independent Power Plants and was ready to provide land to achieve that.
He called on the NNPC to build more fuel retail outlets within the state, assuring that his administration would provide the much-needed incentives, including land to make that a reality.
He commended the NNPC for sustaining Nigeria’s economy over the years, as he said Kaduna Refinery was one of the highest taxpayers in the state.
Olusola Bello & HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA
