Abuja: IPMAN, NNPC Debunk, Douse Fears of Looming Fuel Scarcity

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has debunked reports that the re-surfacing of long queues in the streets of Abuja has aggravated fears of a looming fuel scarcity. 

The National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu who reacted on Tuesday to the latest development, downplayed the report in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday.

Yakubu, however, stated that the long queues recently being observed at various petrol dispensing outlets in the city could be as a result of some fuel station owners being scared of their properties being attacked or damaged by hoodlums.

He stated that it was this fear that must have made some business owners shut down operations following the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests various parts of the country.

Insisting that there is no fuel scarcity in the territory, he stated: “The long queues in some parts of Abuja were due to fear of attacks by hoodlums. People should not fear and embark on panic buying as there is enough fuel on ground. I also urge the youths to shun violence and embrace peace for a better economy,” he said.

Echoeing IPMAN's caution against panic buying of petroleum products was the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) whose spokesperson, Kennie Obateru, doused all fears of a pending fuel scarcity, clarifying that the product available was sufficient enough and that there was no cause for alarm.

According to him: “NNPC has over two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in stock to guarantee steady supply, and at least 60 -day-product supply sufficiency.”

Furthermore, IPMAN's Vice President, Abubakar Shettima, blamed the lingering insecurity, occasioned by the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, for the disruption of supplies which had inflicted losses on its members as most trucks had been abandoned in depots across Lagos. The association added that this development could last for two weeks, noting that marketers’ losses were being estimated.

Just like IPMAN had stated, he also attributed the development to on-going curfews caused by the hijacked protests in parts of the country. He stated: “With the easing of the curfews and restriction of movement by various state governors, normalcy is expected to return to the petroleum products supply chain in the next couple of days.”

As one would imagine, the long queues at the stations have caused traffic gridlock where the commodity is being dispensed. Also, racketeers, also known as "black market" who before now sold a litre for N250 rather than the official pump price of N160. Also, some marketers who had been selling at n158 swiftly adjusted their meters to N160.

It could be recalled that the Rivers State IPMAN chairman, Dr. Joseph Obele, had said that10 tankers belonging to its members had been destroyed across the federation.