Petrol supply challenges facing the country entered its third week yesterday with marketers remaining upbeat about the situation following the release of more volumes by NNPC Limited.
Checks by Vanguard showed that while the length of queues at some of the filling stations opened to motorists in Abuja has reduced significantly, the situation in Lagos remains unresolved.
Around the central area of the nation’s capital, few retail outlets operated by major marketers were opened to the public with queues stretching just beyond their gates.
Speaking on the latest situation, the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike said it will take a few more days for supply to normalize.
Chief Ukadike said independent marketers who had not received any product for weeks were now beginning to load especially at the coastal depots in Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri.
He disclosed that marketers in System 2A and System B were expected to load the product in the coming days.
According to him, “Anytime there is scarcity in Lagos, there will be scarcity everywhere because is the landing port for all imported petroleum products and NNPC will use their daughter vessels to distribute products to the coastal areas.
“Yes, product has come and it is being distributed but like I said earlier in interview with Vanguard, since our pipelines are not working, product will be distributed through daughter vessels to coastal depots where marketers can pick from. Trucks are made to travel to between 500km to 1,000km to deliver products.
“It is a gradual process and Nigerians should be patience. I think they are working assiduously to improve the situation especially now that in Port Harcourt we have received over five million litres of petrol which will water the area.
“I am aware that Warri and Calabar are also loading. So, in few days time everything will normalize. I believe that they are giving more priority to Abuja and the surrounding areas to clear the queues. If you see Abuja, you will see improvement. There is fuel, it is just that it is not sufficient to return supply to normal period.
“I want to give thumb up to the management of NNPCL for standing up and facing some these logistic challenges. I hope that lessons have been learnt”.
Ukadike stated while over 10,000 marketers have now had licences renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, uploading the licences on NNPC portal has remained a challenge.
He therefore urged NNPC Limited to speed up the process so that marketers are not locked out when the portal reopens.
