Long fuel queues have resurfaced at major fuel stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, signalling the commencement of another round fuel scarcity.
The cause for the long queue cannot be duly ascertained, But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has urged tranquillity admist looming fears of possible fuel scarcity.
The NNPC spokesperson, Kennie Obateru, on Tuesday cautioned motorists against panic-buying, saying the corporation has sufficient stock of petrol in its depots across the country.
Mr Obateru, who assured that normalcy in the supply of petroleum products would soon be restored, blamed the long queues at filling stations in Abuja and environs to the impact of the curfews imposed in some states to stem the breakdown of law and order after the recent #EndSARS protests across the country.
“The curfew affected the free movement of fuel tankers to the fuel depots to loans products and supply to the filling stations. There is no need for panic buying. There is sufficient stock of petroleum products (over two billion litres) sufficient to sustain sufficiency for over 60 days,” Mr Obateru said.
In confirmation The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on said with the recent crisis in sections of the country following the #ENDSARS protests, it was normal to expect disruptions in key sectors of the economy.
He said one such sector that was likely to be impacted would be fuel supply and distribution. He said the curfew imposed by the Lagos State government affected the lifting of products from NNPC fuel depots, which supplies more than 70 per cent of the fuel consumed in the country.
Besides, he said as a result of the attacks and burning of fuel tankers in some parts of the country by irate youths, the National Association of Road Transports Owners, whose members own most of the fuel tankers, ordered that lifting of products be suspended till further notice.
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