Yuletide: NNPC Warns Against Panic Buying of Petrol

By Dipo Olowookere

Nigerians have been advised not to engage in panic buying of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly known as petrol.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which made this known, assured petroleum products consumers across the country that it holds 2.6 billion litres of the commodity and 90,000 metric tonnes of Dual Purpose Kerosene (Kerosene) that will last 52 days, assuming no single drop of products is imported from now.

NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, said in a statement that the purported shut down of operations by Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) would not affect products distribution as the agency has ordered all its depots across the country and those of bulk purchase Marketers it recently entered agreements with to undertake a 24 hour operations to avert any shortages in products distribution in the country.

“All NNPC depots, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) throughput partner depots, the Major Marketers depots and depots of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) members who signed the Bulk Purchase Agreement, BPA, with PPMC as well as NNPC Retail stations, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) filling stations, will continue to operate at maximum levels to ensure uninterrupted distribution of petroleum products nationwide,” Mr Ughamadu said.

The statement said despite the threats by DAPPMAN government was committed to going ahead with settling the N236 billion first tranche of the verified subsidy claims of the oil marketers in line with the approval of Federal Executive Council (FEC) and National Assembly (NASS) by Friday, 14 December, 2018 as noted by the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, Mr Henry Nkem Obih in a statement recently. The NNPC spokesperson advised members of the public to report to offices of the Departments of Petroleum Resources (DPR) across the states any fuel stations which attempts to take advantage of the situation to inflate products price, saying that the price of PMS remains N145 per litre.