Yemisi Izuora
The Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), led by its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, have received commendations from Nigerians across all walks of life.
For ensuring adequate supply of petroleum products this festive season, the appreciative Nigerians said the Federal Government and the NNPC had made their joyous occasion worth the while.
The commendations by motorists and petroleum products marketers came when the NNPC GMD undertook an on-the-spot assessment of products supply and distribution situation across some fuel stations in Abuja and its environs.
Dr. Baru who visited several service stations during the tour was heralded at every point with chants of commendations and appreciation by Nigerians all echoing “well done, thank you sir”.
A customer at one of the independent service stations along Kubwa Road, Mr. Abiodun Oluwole, to whose vehicle the GMD dispensed petrol, said the fuel supply situation delighted him, adding that many motorists were pleased to see the nation escape the annual ritual of products scarcity at the year end.
Mr. Oluwole enthused: “We are very happy at the fuel supply situation; we never thought it would come to this again, thank you very much, Sir. By this time last year, we were sleeping at filling stations. But thank God you and your team have save the situation, sir’’.
Lami Ahmed, another dealer with a major marketer, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and the NNPC for ensuring that the country did not have a repeat of last year’s situation, adding, “all we have to say is to express our gratitude for this Christmas period, the station is wet, you can see that we have a lot of trucks to be discharged all through the holiday period, we are grateful to the government, the President and NNPC for ensuring that this Christmas is spent in this beautiful manner’’.
Addressing the press during the tour Dr. Baru explained the enormous challenge NNPC had to overcome to change the supply trajectory, saying much of the success could be attributed to the support NNPC received from President Muhammadu Buhari.
Dr. Baru disclosed that NNPC had 3billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), (otherwise known as petrol), equivalent to 60 days sufficiency, adding that the stock would suffice through the election period, even if no fresh addition was made.
The GMD thanked President Buhari for maintaining the existing pump price of N145.00 per litre “ even when there were times when we brought in products that indicated under recovery of almost N80.00 per litre,’’ while advising hoarders to turn a new leaf, saying that Government would not tolerate sharp practices.
He explained that the corporation had no control over under recovery as it was directly proportional to the prevailing crude oil price.
On his part, Assistant Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Aminu, said Dr. Baru’s effort at galvanizing all stakeholders in tackling Industry issues and his determination at revamping the nation’s downstream infrastructure was responsible for tackling the supply hiccups of last year, stressing that this has restored normalcy to the system.