Fuel scarcity: Kachikwu orders for special supply of petrol nationwide

As Nigerian travellers continue to grapple with the hardship occasioned by shortages in the supply of petrol, Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources and group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at the weekend, ordered for special supply of the product nationwide in order to tame the negative tide of its increasing scarcity.

In order to achieve the set target, the minister directed the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to embark on the recommended special supply intervention measures to ensure countrywide availability of petrol ahead of the forthcoming yuletide season and beyond.

“The special supply intervention mechanism, which entails the ramping up of additional supply via massive truck-out to guarantee product penetration to all the nooks and crannies of the country, commenced over the weekend,” said NNPC in a statement signed by Ohi Alegbe, its group general manager, group public affairs division.

The Corporation also stated that the daily truck out of fuel to locations such as Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Ibadan and Jos have been increased significantly to enhance free flow of products and eliminate scarcity across the country.

It further noted that a series of strategic alliances were being consolidated with some major depot owners and oil marketers with strong regional logistics outlay in those areas to ensure maximum infiltration of products, especially in the hinterlands.

While calling on members of the public to refrain from hoarding, product diversion and panic buying of petrol, the Corporation stressed that the intervention measure being put in place would help circumvent the challenges posed by the unavailability of functional pipelines for the transportation of petroleum products to end users at various locations across the country.

It noted that product diversion was an economic crime and warned that it would not hesitate to report offenders to security agencies for immediate arrest and consequent prosecution.