OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited and the federal government have assured Nigerians of no plan to increase price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS also known as petrol.
Group Managing Director, NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari gave the assurance while addressing Editors in a joint press briefing with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG on Wednesday at the NNPC towers.
According to him, the Company has not given orders for PMS price adjustment, as it does not intend to overburden the masses.
The assurance comes following increase in ex-depot price from N148 to N158.
As fuel scarcity persist in major cities across the country, Kyari said NNPC has sufficient stock of petroleum products for distribution, with over 1.7billion litres of PMS both on marine and on the Land.
The GMD lamented that the current fuel queues at the filling station is as a result of panic buying.
He called on Nigeria to desist from panic buying and buy what they need per day, adding that he is working assiduously with partners to ensure product reaches every part of the country.
“NNPC is further intensifying efforts to resolve distribution hitches being experienced in some parts of the country due to logistics issues,” we have engaged depot operators to load product round the clock to accelerate the restoration of normal distribution.
“We have capacity now to load from all depots. we are currently running 24 hours loading from all our depots and we believe this will close the gap created by panic buying.
“We hope this will bring normalcy to the system soon”, he added.
The GMD also disclosed that it has engaged the services of government security agencies to ensure that all products loaded get to the right destinations and affirmed that sanction will be meted to any operator selling above the stipulated pump price.
“We sincerely apologise to our people and urge Nigerians to continue to be patient as we strive to return the situation to normalcy.
“As the supplier of last resort, NNPC has continued to sustain adequate petroleum products supply and distribution to the Nation despite challenges associated with the unending waves of pipeline vandalism, product theft and Cross-border smuggling of PMS.
“In line with the existing laws of the land, NNPC Ltd. is deeply committed to ensuring energy security for the country,” the GMD said.
Follow us on twitter
