The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said it has discharged one cargo of 44 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit to ensure availability of the product across the country.
This was contained in a statement signed by Garba Deen Mohammed, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, on Friday in Abuja.
The statement said: “Our immediate concern is to make petrol available through the interventions and processes put in place so that the queues will disappear within the next one to two weeks.
“As at 4pm today, one PMS cargo containing 42 million litres has completely discharged.
“Two more PMS cargos with a combined ‘Remaining on Board’of 44 million litres are currently discharging, while another PMS cargo containing 44 million litres is berthed and awaiting discharge.”
According to the statement, the corporation have enough products lined up to ensure that the supply gap, which created the problem, is bridged.
It added that in order to ensure effective distribution, the NNPC would work with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, oil majors and over 1,000 NNPC staff nationwide to overcome the obstacles in the distribution of the products.
It noted that for long term solutions, the NNPC and the Government were working to put in place machineries to ensure that the refineries were fixed and working optimally.
The statement added that the pipelines, which had been under attack for some time now, were repaired.
“The Direct Sale Direct Purchase arrangement for crude would commence in the first week of April,” it said.
It further stated that President Muhammad Buhari had given his support to increase the crude supply to NNPC to ensure local sufficiency of products.
This, it said, would go a long way to solve the problems in the short and long term.
It assured that while the Easter celebration lasts, the NNPC would continue to work hard to bring the fuel scarcity to a speedy end.
It said: “We urge Nigerians to continue to be patient because the difficulties being experienced as a result of the situation will soon be alleviated.
“We would like to assure all Nigerians that the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, and everybody else associated with this situation is working tirelessly round the clock to ensure relief is brought to Nigerians.”
