The Nigerian National Petroleum Company and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have allayed the fears of Nigerians over possible fuel scarcity in some parts of the country.
The PUNCH reported that the scarcity of PMS worsened on Thursday in Abuja, as the Federal Government attributed the development to flooded roads in Kogi State that stopped tankers from transporting the commodity.
Addressing the development, the Chairman of IPMAN, Northern Nigeria branch, Alhaji Bashir Danmalam in Kano on Sunday called on Nigerians to exercise patience as effort is being made to address the current fuel scarcity occasioned by the flooding which led to the destruction of some major roads in some parts of northern states.
According to The PUNCH, Danmalam said that approximately two hundred trucks carrying the product from Calabar, Cross River State, will soon arrive in Abuja and other areas of the northern states for distribution to service stations.
It was intended that the trucks will travel from Abuja to Ikom, Ogoja, Katsina-Ala, Vandeikia, and then Lafiya, as stated by the IPMAN Chairman.
In addition, the NNPC stated on Thursday that there was no need for panic buying because efforts were being made to address the challenges of fuel scarcity caused by flooding in parts of Kogi and Niger states, which prevented the passage of petroleum trucks carrying products to Abuja and some northern states.
The current line-ups in some areas of Abuja and its surroundings, according to the Group General Manager of the Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC Ltd, Garba Muhammad are the result of fuel trucks arriving later than expected.
Danmalam commended the Managing Director of Petroleum Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, Alhaji Isyaku Abdullahi, for pledging to support marketers with diesel in order to reduce the hardship being experienced as a result of the high cost of the product.
He said that the NNPC Limited and IPMAN were working tirelessly to ensure adequate product supply and distribution, and that the shortage would soon end because there was enough fuel on hand.
He claimed that as a result of the flooding, the majority of the key thoroughfares utilized by the marketers had deteriorated, causing many truckers to travel for eight to nine days, particularly on Koton Karfe Road.
He mentioned that the Bida lemu-zungeru road, Minna-Tagina (6 km from Minna Makonkele), Tegina-Mokwa, Mokwa- Makera to Minna (Bakane), and Lambata-Lapai-Agaie-Bida roads were some of the impacted highways.
