Joseph Bakare
There is hope in sight for return of normalcy in petrol distribution across the country following an agreement reached between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with oil marketers to end scarcity of petrol.
The corporation in a statement by its Group General Manager Public Affairs, Ohi Alegbe, in Abuja stated that the commitment of oil marketers to support measures put in place by the federal government to restore sanity to fuel supply and distribution condition will within days ensure that the scarcity ends.
It explained that at the end of a strategy session convened by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to address the fuel situation, members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and the Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria (JEPTFON), agreed to end the fuel queues as soon as possible.
Kachikwu was quoted in the statement to have asked the marketers to set up proactive mechanism to guarantee unimpeded distribution of petroleum products across the country.
He also pledged to eliminate all bottlenecks to fast track the process, adding: “We have gotten DPR, PEF and PPPRA to be a bit more flexible with the rules to allow for more movement of trucks and products massively.”
The statement further said the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Femi Olawore, who spoke for the association, stated that the major stakeholders are willing and ready to work with the ministry and NNPC to restore normalcy to the fuel situation.
“For us, there is only one thing that we know how to do and that is to sell petroleum products in accordance with the law. It is just a matter of few days before we get to normalcy,” Olawore said.
He also noted that MOMAN would never do anything is against prevailing regulations on the supply and distribution of petroleum products.
Also, Dapo Abiodun who spoke for DAPPMA, pledged commitment to work towards the achievement of the government’s objective of ensuring free flow of petroleum products across the country.
Equally, the Chairman of JEPTFON, Ifeanyi Uba was quoted to have pledged the readiness of the petroleum tank farm owners to support the initiative.
Uba also called for government assistance in clearing the perennial traffic at the Apapa loading gantries.