NNPCL WARNS AGAINST PANIC BUYING, SAYS 1.5 BILLION LITRES PETROL IN STOCK

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With almost 1.5 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in store, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has issued a warning against panic buying as the country’s supply and distribution of fuel, or PMS, continue to improve.

The company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said in a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday that the 1.5 billion litres are equivalent to 30 days’ worth of product supply.

As a result of the company’s observation of filling stations in multiple states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, fuel lines have reportedly thinned out. This is “a development that will keep improving daily in other states,” the statement continued.

In order to combat hoarding and other unhealthy activities, the national oil corporation stated it is also working with pertinent downstream organisations, including the Nigeran Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), industry labour unions, and security personnel.

The development follows a new wave of petrol scarcity that struck the nation two weeks ago, driving up pump prices to as much as N800 at stations run by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and as much as N610 at most Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) stations.

By manipulating prices to as high as N1200 per litre, black marketers and racketeers also took advantage of the situation.