Embarrassed by the resurgence of fuel queues at filling stations across the country, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to release products in storage to cover for the current shortfalls in the distribution chain.
A source at NNPC, who hinted at this development, said although both the minister and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, were not in the country as at last night, Kachikwu however immediately responded to the development, having deemed it of utmost national importance. The source added that about 30 or more vessels will dock from next week, to fill the supply gap.
The source also hinted that Kachikwu probably saw this coming a long time ago, when he had been warning the NNPC that queues might return to the streets unless they pulled back and allowed private sector players improve their participation in importation, adding that the NNPC currently imports 100% of petroleum products. It was also gathered that distribution challenges faced by the NNPC have created scarcity of petrol as only 8 out of about 35 functional depots in Lagos had product yesterday.