The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has revealed that the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country will continue for at least two more weeks.
Chinedu Ukadike, the Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, stated that the scarcity is due to the unavailability of the product in the country. Ukadike explained that the challenge in sourcing petroleum products is a result of European refineries undergoing maintenance.
He also cited importation bottlenecks and the slow pace of marketers’ license renewal by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) as contributing factors to the acute shortage in supply.
According to Ukadike, out of the 15,000 marketers, only 1,050 have had their licenses renewed by NMDPRA. He emphasized that the lack of supply or inadequate supply leads to scarcity and long queues at filling stations.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the sole supplier of petroleum products in Nigeria, has attributed the challenge to logistics and vessel problems. Ukadike shared that the NNPC Group CEO has assured them of improvement in the supply chain as vessels are arriving.
However, he noted that it would take two to three months to restore the 30-day supply sufficiency once it is disrupted. IPMAN expects that by next week, the NNPC should be able to restore supply, and within another week, normalcy should return.
This will alleviate the fuel scarcity and reduce the inconvenience faced by the public.
Article updated 21 hours ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
