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Fuel Scarcity Intensifies: Marketers Calls Urgent Meeting Amid NNPC’s Efforts

Published

8 months ago

May 5, 2024.

Marketers Calls Urgent Meeting Amid NNPC’s Efforts.
Fuel scarcity deepens nationwide
NNPC opens reserves, Major Energies Marketers Association receives fuel shipments.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that as the fuel scarcity worsens nationwide, members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) are set to convene their National Executive Council meeting on Monday to address the ongoing crisis.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH, IPMAN’s National President, Hammed Fashola, emphasized the urgency of Monday’s meeting due to the persistence of fuel scarcity despite recent efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

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Fashola highlighted NNPC’s recent move of opening up reserves in all existing depots across the country on Friday in an attempt to alleviate the long queues at fuel stations. Additionally, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria reported receiving 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels during the week, which has since been distributed to members in Apapa and other locations in Lagos.

Recall that the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Ayo Cardoso, had also said that aside from the 240 million litres offloaded at various depots on Monday, close to 85 million litres of petrol was offloaded as of Tuesday evening.

But speaking to our correspondent on Saturday, Fashola said the Monday meeting is to assess how far the recent moves have gone in addressing the scarcity of petroleum products across the country and that the oil marketers would further engage the NNPC with outcomes of the meeting.

Marketers Calls Urgent Meeting

“We are meeting on Monday officially with other marketers. We are working closely with NNPC. The Monday meeting is for our National Executive Council. After the meeting, we will reach out to the NNPC. We talk with them every day,” he stated.

On the likely subject of the Monday meeting, he said, “It will be to assess the present situations. We evaluate what we have done so far. We will look at what is happening in the cities; assess the situations to know what to do again.”

“The meetings we have been having with the NNPC are in collaboration, which we have been doing. If you notice, yesterday (Friday), NNPC opened up their reserves in all the depots throughout the federation. And we are working with them to ensure that everywhere is wet so that this thing (scarcity) can disappear.

“I want to commend NNPC for their proactive measures. We are equally giving them the necessary support we are supposed to give them as oil marketers. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to members of the public to stop panic buying. They should buy what they need. Once they buy what they need, you will see that the long queues will disappear.

“So we are trying to discourage that (hoarding),” he stated.

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