Fuel Scarcity: NNPC Directs PPMC, PPPRA on Xmas, New Year Intervention

MINISTER of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) , Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has directed the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and Petroleum Products Pric­ing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to embark on re­newed special supply inter­vention measures to ensure country-wide availability of petroleum products ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations .NNPC, in a statement, disclosed that the special supply intervention mecha­nism which entails the ramping up of additional supply via massive truck-out to guarantee product penetration to the nooks and crannies of the country took off over the weekend.
The corporation stated that daily fuel truck out to locations such as Abuja, Ka­duna, Kano, Enugu, Ibadan and Jos have been increased significantly to enhance free flow of products across the country.
NNPC also stated that it was consolidating its stra­tegic alliance 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 hinterland ahead of the forthcoming Christmas and New year festivities.
NNPC noted that product diversion is an economic crime and warned that it would not hesitate to report offenders to security agen­cies for prosecution.
At the time of this report, some filling stations in Abu­ja claimed they did not have the product while the few with fuel had long queues.
Those who had the prod­uct sold fuel between N160 to N200 per litre at the out­skirts of the city.