As a fuel line formed in Abuja yesterday, marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), often known as gasoline, voiced worries over a shortfall of supplies from Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
In certain areas of the city, gas stations closed as drivers took longer to fill up their tanks in order to avoid problems with a shortage of fuel. Notwithstanding the purported liberalization of the downstream sector of the business, NNPC has continued to be the exclusive importer of PMS in the face of unfair competition.
According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), there are obstacles preventing its members from receiving a sufficient supply of supplies. Top association member Abubakar Shettima stated that members have expressed worries over NNPC’s insufficient supply and that things will become apparent today.
There was a supply issue, according to Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN). He clarified, nevertheless, that he did not anticipate a shortage of fuel because his members had fuel at their stations and drivers lack the funds to purchase it because of the present economic downturn.
Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd., stated that there isn’t a supply problem but acknowledged that there have been fleeting distribution problems.
We are happy to reaffirm that there are no problems with supply and that our items are still easily accessible. He stated that a minor distribution problem in Lagos was the cause of the recent tightness felt in certain regions, and it has now been fixed.