NNPC Speaks On Petrol Scarcity, Queues In Lagos, Others

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said there is no fuel scarcity in Lagos and other parts of the country.

In a statement on Thursday, the national oil company’s subsidiary, NNPC Retail, disclosed that petrol queues in Lagos and some other parts of the country are due to reduced depot loadout in Apapa.

According to NNPC Retail, the reason for the low depot loadout has since been addressed, adding that the country has adequate stock of petrol to last for 30 days.

The oil company, therefore, advised motorists to desist from panic buying as distribution “will normalise over the next couple of days”.

The statement reads: “NNPC Retail Ltd. notes the appearance of fuel queues in some parts of Lagos and a few other locations around the country.

“This is due to reduced Depot loadout in Apapa, Lagos over a few days, and the root cause has since been addressed.

“We assure all Nigerians that there is ample supply with a sufficiency of at least 30 days.”

Recall that the NNPC recently regained its status as the sole importer of petrol into the country because licensed private oil companies were unable to obtain Foreign Exchange (FX) for importation.

The Managing Director and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, made this known recently at an event in Abuja.

“None of them (fuel companies) can do it today. That means we can manage the market situation without creating any subsidy environment. But for them, access to foreign exchange is difficult. We have access to FX; we create FX, therefore, we have access to FX, and their access to FX is limited,” he had said.