Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, on Friday, said “the pains inflicted on Nigerians by marketers during Yuletide was callous.”
Baru, who said this to newsmen after a tour of some filling stations in Abuja, added that 1,733 trucks left various depots to various destinations nationwide to ease the fuel situation.
According to him, eight more ships with petroleum products berthed at various ports: four in Apapa, two in Oghara and two in Calabar, hence, the queues will vanish by the weekend.
“We have always said we have fuel sufficiency. We should be comfortable till end of January. Sufficiency is not the question.
“Those who diverted the product should please be mindful of their brothers and sisters. Inflicting pains during yuletide was callous. We have sufficient products.
“Marketers buy the product from our depots at N133.38 and have no reason to sell above N145. This situation is self-inflicted by callous marketers. Why are they inflicting so much suffering?
“You see what we did to hoarders and profiteers, we dispensed free and that will happen continuously. I urge Nigerians not to co-operate with profiteers, please use
your phones and call DPR (the regulators).
“We have stepped up supply volume. 1,733 trucks leave depots daily, as against the normal 700-800 trucks to tackle this situation. This kind of situation will not repeat itself God-willing.”
Baru, on his sixth day of monitoring, apologised to motorists at every station he stopped and assured them of better days ahead.
He urged station managers to check boots for jerry-cans, extra-fitted tanks for profiteers who queued repeatedly, thereby hindering other motorists, saying they should be handed over to security agents.
During the six days of monitoring, more than 78,000 litres of petrol was dispensed free to Abuja motorists from various stations that sold more than the cap of N145 per litre.
The fuel queues begun on December 7, following rumours of hike in pump price of petrol.
