The federal government has initiated a 15-day emergency fuel supply to filling stations nationwide, aiming to alleviate the persisting scarcity and surging prices at petrol pumps, which have burdened citizens and businesses alike.
The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria reported the reception of 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels in Apapa this week. Ayo Cardoso, the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, disclosed that between Monday, April 29, and Tuesday, April 30, at least 325 million litres of fuel were offloaded, with more vessels en route to Nigeria’s shores.
“The fuel stations round show that the situation is calm. All stations have products and are selling,” affirmed James Tor, the national secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN). “If there is no product, we cannot give out anything. But happily, there are products, and the federal government is doing much.”
Tor emphasized that the queues at filling stations would gradually dissipate as logistical challenges in the supply chain were being addressed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He urged against panic buying, asserting that such behavior would exacerbate the situation for everyone. “What we are witnessing is just a bridge between what is going on and what is going on,” he remarked.
“But happily enough, I want to announce to the public that there shouldn’t be any panic buying, because when this thing happens, and people start rushing here and there and trying to accumulate the products, that effect will go a long way to affect everybody.”
