The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has increased the daily supply of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) across the country from 550 trucks to 1,661 trucks to combat the build-up of fuel queues in some parts of the country.
A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, Tuesday night, quoted the Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Musa Lawan, as saying that there are about two billion litres of PMS in strategic depots across the country to keep the nation well supplied for two months if no drop of fuel was imported in that period.
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“We have embarked on a massive loadout. Today, we sent out 1,661 trucks from all depots across the country. Reports reaching us show that they have already started arriving at the filling stations. We believe that this would ease out the queues,” Lawan reassured.
The PPMC boss explained that the disruption in the distribution chain was caused by the strike embarked upon by Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) over compensation.
It would be recalled that the intervention of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, yesterday led to the suspension of the strike by the PTD for one week.
Speaking in a similar vein at the statehouse after a meeting with the president, Kyari pledged that with the resumption of loading, normalcy would soon return to the fuel situation across the country.
He said the ex-depot price of petrol would remain the same for May, urging marketers not to engage in an arbitrary price increase.
