Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Chairman of Satellite Depot, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Lagos, Akin Akinrinade, said the retail stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited don’t have fuel to sell.
Akinrinade stated that fuel scarcity is affecting both the private and government-owned petrol stations and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) hasn’t said anything about the product’s availability.
“Nobody is saying anything to us yet. And as we speak, we are still not loading products here. In fact, the situation is worsening because the queues have continued.
“Even some of NNPCL Retail stations don’t also have products for sale. I believe it’s a stock issue, and the NMDPRA should be able to tell us what is really happening but, I know they won’t want to tell the truth,” he said in a Punch report on Thursday.
Although IPMAN President, Chinedu Okonkwo, sang a different tune, claiming that the NNPC is loading fuel based on their discussion during a meeting with the NNPCL Retail.
“I just left NNPC Retail, and they assured us that they have plenty of products. Go to the depots, they are loading,” he said, adding he doesn’t “know the quantity in stock but all depots are loading.”
Also, a source in NMDPRA quoted in the report said there is no scarcity of fuel, disclosing that depots in Lagos State are housing about 540 million litres of fuel.
He said the depots are not dry as claimed, but the regulatory body is trying to close the gaps in the distribution of the products. “I can tell you that there is no significant difference in what was trucked out last week and this week,” the source added.
“The depots are not dry. Everywhere is wet. There are two vessels discharging PMS at Apapa jetty, one at Ijegun, one at Coconut, Ibafo, and one at MRS, Tincan.
“Cumulatively, we are talking about 200, 000 metric tonnes of PMS, equivalent to about 540 million litres in various shore tanks in Lagos. So, we are taking time to close the supply gaps, and I can assure you that the queues would disappear just as they came,” he said.
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