As Nigerians continue to groan under excruciating fuel scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said panic buying is responsible for the situation.
The corporation claimed it has over 1.5 billion litres of products in stock.
It stated this in a statement by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye in Abuja on Tuesday.
The 1.5 billion litres equals 30 days of product sufficiency, he claimed.
The company said it had monitored filling stations across several states, including Lagos and the FCT, and has noticed that fuel queues have since thinned out, “a development that will keep improving daily in other states,” the statement added.
The national oil company said it is also collaborating with relevant downstream agencies, such as the Nigeran Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), labour unions in the sector, and security operatives, to address hoarding and other unwholesome practices.
The NNPCL position is in stake contrast from the situation on ground, after a fresh round of petrol scarcity hit the country two weeks ago, forcing pump prices to increase to between N610 at most stations belonging to the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), and as high as N800 at the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) stations.
Black marketers and racketeers also seized the opportunity by jerking prices to as high as N1200 per litre.
By Babajide Okeowo
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