NMDPRA: How we restored normalcy in petrol distribution after scarcity

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says its four-point strategy helped to restore normalcy in the distribution of premium motor spirit (PMS), better known as petrol.

Roselyn Wilkie, zonal operations controller, NMDPRA, said this during an interview with NAN on Thursday in Abuja.

TheCable had reported on February 8 that the NMDPRA confirmed that petrol with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification was discovered in the supply chain.

The development had caused scarcity of petrol and resulted in long queues in filling stations across Lagos and Abuja.

Listing the measures adopted by the agency, Wilkie said the NMDPRA ensured that there was no diversion of the product, no hoarding, no selling in jerry-cans and also discouraged hawking of the product.

She said the regulatory authority encouraged dispensing of petroleum products with maximum available pumps at fuel stations.

Wilkie said increase in product supply and distribution were also major factors that ensured that normalcy returned to the system.

On the activities of black marketers, she said NMDPRA was working tirelessly to ensure that all roadside sellers of PMS in jerry-cans are eradicated from the streets.

“Our major concern is safety of lives and property as we understand the volatile nature of petrol and its hazards,” Wilkie said.

However, during checks carried out by TheCable around some major fuel stations in the FCT, blacķ market operators wee seen carrying on with their business.