Featured Post

As Anambra State prepares for Nov 6 election…

Petrol Supply: PPPRA Threatens Unruly Marketers with Sanctions


Original Post By Chineme Okafor in Abuja                                                                             http://www.thisdaylive.com/

Following the expected suspension of the three-day warning strike embarked on by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and a seeming restoration of normalcy in the sale of petrol by service stations in Abuja, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has said that it will sanction petroleum marketers found guilty of gaming the system.
The Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, directed that all petroleum marketers approved within its Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) framework must sell products from all pumps at their respective stations and at the officially-approved pump price of N97 per litre or risk being sanctioned.
Ahmed explained that there was sufficient Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the country, to guarantee uninterrupted fuel supply, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other oil marketers have adequate product in stock to last the festive season and beyond.
He noted that as such, there was no need for any marketer to engage in unwholesome market activities.
“We wish to re-assure Nigerians that there is steady supply of products across the country and the trend shall continue as the government is in discussions with the unions to address their grievances,” he said while stating that the observed panic-buying among motorist was occasioned by fears that the industrial action might lead to product scarcity.
Ahmed further disclosed that the PPPRA’s national petroleum products stocks data indicate that the country had been consistent with building its land and marine-based stocks, which today stand at over 40-day sufficiency.
This he said was in addition to more vessel nominations that are being handled by the PPPRA to discharge products at various depots across the country.
He also explained that the PPPRA had consistently, within the last four years, guaranteed uninterrupted products supply and thus reassured Nigerians that the agency remains resolute in its mandate of ensuring adequate products supply and distribution nationwide.