Regulator assures of sufficient stock of petrol, discourages panic buying

…As marketers hike pump price

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has appealed to Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of petrol, assuring that it has enough in stock.

The Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, gave the assurance in Lagos on Tuesday.

Ahmed said he checked with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) on the level of fuel stock and confirmed that they have sufficient stock.

“l spoke with the MOMAN’S Executive Secretary this morning and he told me they have sufficient stock.

“I have directed them to start evacuating the product immediately to filling stations.

“NNPC has also confirmed sufficiency and they have commenced evacuation.

“From now till tomorrow the situation will be back to normal.

“I don’t know what is happening but we are on top of the situation,” he said.

Ahmed assured that there was enough fuel and, therefore, appealed to members of the public to avoid panic buying as all efforts were being made to resolve shortage in some filling stations in Lagos and its environs.

The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Mike Osatuyi, attributed the scarcity to unsteady supply in the past few days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Osatuyi as saying as a result of the unsteady supply, depots prices rose from N165 to N177, and N178 per litre in Apapa and its environs.

“The marketers will only sell what they buy. If the price of petrol increases, we add our transportation cost and other charges to the selling price,” he said.

He appealed to NNPC and NMDPRA to supply enough petrol across the country to ease scarcity.

Petrol queues, on Tuesday, began to resurface in some filling stations around Maryland, Onipan, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island.

– NAN