Calling upon security agencies to take action against those stockpiling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) – commonly known as petrol – the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) assured the public of ample petrol reserves, with efforts underway to address the logistical obstacles that have caused scarcity of the product.
During a press briefing at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Wednesday, Ikenga Ugochinyere, co-chair of the committee and Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), emphasized that there is sufficient petrol supply to sustain the nation for approximately 30 days.
Ugochinyere highlighted that distribution to marketers had been disrupted due to challenges in transporting vessels meant to transfer products from offshore to onshore locations.
Expressing disapproval towards middlemen capitalizing on supply disruptions to inflate prices for personal gain, Ugochinyere emphasized the need for security forces to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in the petroleum distribution chain to detect and address acts of economic sabotage such as hoarding, price hikes, product diversion, and smuggling.
Appealing to traders and service providers not to exploit the temporary challenge, Ugochinyere reassured the public that the issues would be resolved soon.
The committees pledged that the current problems would be resolved within days as regulatory bodies in the industry committed to resolving the difficulties.
Despite concerns over fuel queues at petrol stations nationwide, the committees remained optimistic that the situation would improve shortly, attributing the disruptions to logistical issues rather than actual petrol shortages.
Ugochinyere urged Nigerians to exercise patience, promising that the queues would dissipate in the next couple of days as logistical challenges were being addressed.
Assured by regulators that bottlenecks causing the disruptions were being cleared, Ugochinyere expressed confidence that the fuel supply chain would soon function seamlessly.