Oil Dealers Responsible For Fuel Scarcity - NNPC Insist

NNPC GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has insisted that the current fuel crisis was instigated by petroleum marketers, noting, however, that its increased truck out of the commodity has helped addressed the scarcity. In a statement in Abuja on Saturday, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, maintained that the scarcity was self-inflicted following the sharp practices of some unscrupulous marketers who took to hoarding and diversion of the product.

He said,“We have maintained our position that this scarcity is self-inflicted by marketers. The NNPC has more than 30-day sufficiency of supply of petroleum products, especially PMS and at the current consumption rate of about 27 million to 28 million litres per day, we should be very comfortable until the end of January 2018 even if we don’t import a drop of petrol into this country.”

Baru appealed to marketers who have diverted petroleum products to desist from profiteering, stressing that the commodity was being sold to marketers at N133.28 per litre apart from their profit margin and a transportation cost of N7.20 per litre. He urged the marketers to avoid the long arm of the law catching up with them, adding that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had been mandated to invoke the law against any defaulting marketers.