FUEL SCARCITY: Abuja Tankers Diverted By Fraudulent Marketers?

The NNPC says it has enough petrol in stock for Abuja motorists.

The fuel scarcity being experienced by Abuja residents is caused by petrol marketers, who divert the petrol meant for the Nigerian capital- the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has said.

The Corporation claimed that in two days, petrol marketers diverted over 73 trucks loaded with petrol and meant for Abuja motorists.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Fidel Pepple, said the petrol scarcity, which has resulted in long queues at filling stations in Abuja, cannot be justified as the Corporation has done everything within its powers to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol.

According to Mr. Pepple, the corporation, through its products marketing and distribution subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, has released enough petrol to sufficiently meet the demand in Abuja and its environs.

“Going by the quantity of PMS that has been released by PPMC from the Kaduna Refinery for distribution to Abuja, we are not supposed to have queues at all in any filling station.

“On Monday, 71 trucks of PMS were loaded from the Refinery in Kaduna designated for Abuja, but the report we have shows that only 18 trucks arrived Abuja.

“On Tuesday (yesterday), 45 trucks of PMS were loaded from Kaduna to Abuja, only 25 arrived. This clearly shows that some marketers are diverting the product thereby causing unnecessary hardship to Nigerians,” Mr. Pepple said.

Mr. Pepple said the NNPC has alerted the Department of Petroleum Resources about the development, adding that the PPMC is working in conjunction with other regulatory authorities to unravel the identity of those involved in the unpatriotic act.

“All those found to be involved in the sabotage of government effort to restore normalcy will be severely sanctioned.

Mr. Pepple asked Abuja motorists to avoid panic buying and illegal stocking of petrol in unsafe places.

“The NNPC is doing everything within its powers to resolve the distribution challenge being experienced as a result of pipeline vandalism and sabotage across the country,” he said.

Source: Premium Times