The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd. has blamed the fuel scarcity that has led to long queues in filling stations nationwide due to recent rains, lightning, and thunderstorms.
NNPC’s vice-president (downstream), Dapo Segun, disclosed this at a press conference at the NNPC towers in Abuja.
Recall that fuel scarcity reemerged in major cities such as Lagos and Abuja, with vehicles lining up at the few filling stations selling petrol on Monday and Tuesday.
It was observed that major roads in both cities were notably empty, as motorists were unable to travel due to a lack of fuel. Even NNPC-owned filling stations were completely closed, with some drivers waiting in vain for them to reopen.
On Tuesday, fuel prices varied between N840 and N1,200 at different locations across the country.
Many filling stations attributed the scarcity to a lack of fuel distribution by marketers to their stations, though they could not explain the underlying cause of this distribution issue.
However, apologising to Nigerians for the queues springing up across the country, Segun, on Tuesday, said the recent weather conditions hampering the sufficient distribution of fuel across the country is beyond the control of the corporation, but assured that all will be done to manage the situation.
“We’ll like to apologise to Nigerians for the queues we’ve been seeing springing up. A number of the causes are outside of our control but we’ll do our best to manage. We do not like to make excuses,” Segun stated.
“For example, since the rains began, the Estragos channel has been difficult to navigate through. We have vessel after vessel going around there because of siltation, and that has really hindered our ability to bring petroleum products, particularly PMS, up country.”
The NNPCL executive added, “We also understand that with the rains also, situations where to discharge petroleum products where there is lightning, thunderstorms, you have to suspend, not just the discharge of petroleum products onshore but also, the evacuation from the tankers. We’ve had situations that have occurred in recent times.
“We’ve also had issues with the road network. That also gives challenges in bringing these products upcountry. The tightness you see in Lagos currently was due to a very short supply gap, which has since been redressed. Vessels are in Lagos now, offloading and discharging as I speak. So, that is definitely short-lived.”
Segun vowed that despite the number of factors creating the nightmarish situations, no stone will be left unturned in ensuring that petroleum products get to all nooks and crannies in the country.