Reps panel: We’ll work with stakeholders to prevent petrol scarcity in future

The house of representatives committees on petroleum resources downstream and midstream say plans are in place to avert petrol scarcity in the future.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, Ikenga Ugochinyere, chairman of the committee on petroleum resources downstream, said the current petrol scarcity will end in the next three days.

In the last two weeks, long queues have resurfaced in petrol stations amid scarcity of the product. The scenario has led to an increase in transport costs. 

On Tuesday, the house of representatives invited the minister of petroleum resources over the persistent petrol scarcity in the country.

Ugochinyere said the committees “engaged extensively” with stakeholders in the petroleum distribution value chain — the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) — to ascertain the cause of the resurgence of the fuel queues in petrol stations across the country.

“We hereby express our concerns over the temporary presence of fuel queues in petrol stations across the country,” the legislator said.

The lawmaker said there is an availability of 1.5 billion litres of petrol in the country.

“From our investigations, we have discovered that there is availability of petrol products. We have good authority that we have in our storage facilities, at least, about 1.5 billion litres of petrol that can last for 30 days,” the committee chairman said.

The lawmaker blamed the scarcity of petrol on transporting the product from mother vessels to onshore.

Ugochinyere said the regulators have assured the committee that the bottlenecks have been cleared and distribution of petrol has commenced.

“In the course of this public holiday, more grounds will be covered. From our findings, the issues that necessitated the disruptions which led to the appearance of fuel queues in petrol stations have been cleared,” he added. 

“Obviously, it will take a few more days for things to return to normalcy. Therefore, we call on Nigerians not to panic over this development.

“We have gotten assurances from the regulators and the unions, that these challenges will be cleared in a few days. It will require more time, like two to three days for products to be distributed to all stations nationwide.

“As a committee that is charged with downstream and midstream oversight, we have been monitoring this development.”

‘SABOTEURS SHOULD BE ARRESTED’

The committee called on security agencies to crack down on “saboteurs” hoarding and diverting the product.

“At this juncture, we strongly frown at the activities of middlemen who have taken advantage of the short disruption of supply, to maximize profit and generate an inordinate gain for themselves, at the detriment of our people,” Ugochinyere said.

“We hereby call on security forces to support the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution value chain, to ensure that such acts of economic sabotage that has to do with hoarding, arbitrary increment in price, product diversion and smuggling are detected and dealt with.

“Our people have been through a lot in the last few days and we must not plunge them into further pains. We appeal to all traders and those rendering services, not to unduly take advantage of this temporary challenge, which will be cleared in the next few days.”

The lawmaker said to resolve the petrol crisis, the committee will investigate the “remote and immediate” causes of the temporary disruption.

“We shall work with the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution chain, towards finding a sustainable solution in ensuring that we do not run into such avoidable disruption in the near future, which can hamper economic activities,” he said.

Also speaking, Henry Okojie, chairman of the house committee on petroleum resources midstream, advised Nigerians against panic buying of the product, adding that the distribution of the product to dispensing stations is ongoing.