Fuel Queues: NNPC urges Nigerian not to panic buy.
Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has urged Nigerians not to panic buy, saying there is enough Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol to last for more than a week.
Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, NNPC, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Bureau of Public Service Reforms Seminar on the role of NNPC in current reforms in the petroleum sector.
According to Eyesan, there is no truth in the speculations that there will be an increase in the price of PMS which has caused members of the public to resort to panic buying.
Eyesan explained that during the violence following the EndSARS protests, Customs office was burnt and all petroleum shipments came from outside the country.
She emphasised that the protest and curfew imposed in Lagos State affected movement of PMS to other parts of the country.
She affirmed that there was enough product on ground to last the country for over a week.
“Today we have a lot of products that will last over a week if there are no new shipments. We are rest assured that this is not a frontline problem.
“When the EndSARS protest started, we invoked our Business continuity plan to assess the risk and the damages that would accompany the protest.
“During the violence following the EndSARS protest, Customs office was burnt and all our petroleum shipments came from outside the country.
“That meant that all port operations were halted, then Lagos went on a curfew thereafter; it is not that we don’t have products in stock,” Eyesan said.
In his presentation, the Director-General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Dasuki Arabi said that the operations of the petroleum sector would improve if the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was passed into law.
According to him, the PIB will address challenges in the sector, particularly:
“Rehabilitation of the nation’s four refineries so that they can begin to function at 100 percent capacity.
“The petroleum reform and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) which should take immediate steps to accelerate the process of acquisition and diffusion of technology and managerial expertise in the energy sector for stability and self-reliance.
“Promotion of increased investments and developments of the energy sector industries with substantial private sector participation.(NAN)
