The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd., has assures Nigerians that the long queues experienced due to fuel scarcity, will be cleared by Wednesday. This declaration was made by Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Communications Officer of NNPCL. Soneye made the confirmation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He stated that the company currently possesses an excess of 1.5 billion litres of products, sufficient for at least 30 days.
“Regrettably, we faced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has now been rectified. However, recovering from such disruptions usually takes double the time to resume normal operations,” he explained.
“Some individuals are exploiting this situation for undue profit. Fortunately, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these individuals might be taking advantage of the situation.” Soneye added.
He assured, “The queues will be cleared out between today and tomorrow.”
Also, Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), expressed optimism that queues in Lagos and Ogun would diminish this week, relying on NNPCL’s assurances.
“The information from NNPCL suggests a logistics problem, which disrupts the supply chain. Correcting this might take some days. I anticipate more products available for lifting by marketers by Tuesday or Wednesday.” Fashola noted.
He however said that the queues might persist in Abuja, due to the distance from Lagos and poor road conditions.
In Lagos, only a few filling stations were operating, and long queues were observed in many areas.
Energy Afrique reported on how fuel prices soared especially in Northern Nigeria, making transportations and small scale business more difficult to run. It also gathered that a vessel had commenced the discharge of petrol in Warri, Delta State, on Friday. However, dealers cautioned that it would take several days before the product reached the Northern states, prolonging the fuel scarcity.
