The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has cautioned Nigerians against engaging in panic buying of fuel, saying it has sufficient fuel for everyone.
The NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Garba Deen Muhammad, gave the assurance in a statement on Sunday night.
Over the weekend and into Monday, there was the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja.
Reacting to this, NNPC said the queues were due to low loadouts at depots, which usually happen during long public holidays.
It said it has over of 2.5 billion litres of petrol in stock with the sufficiency of more than 43 days.
Most of the queues were seen at NNPC retail outlet at the Central Business District area and Oando in Wuse Zone 1 while Saddi Kamal, MRS Oil, Dan Oil and Danmarna Petroleum Limited, located along Lugbe airport road, were under lock Sunday morning.
NNPC, in its statement, said, “The NNPC Ltd notes the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja.
“This is very likely due to low loadouts at depots which usually happen during long public holidays, in this case, the Sallah celebrations.
“Another contributing factor to the sudden appearances of queues is the increased fuel purchases which are also usual with returning residents of the FCT from the public holidays.
“NNPC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in conjunction with our marketing partners have taken necessary measures to ramp up loadouts from all depots.
“We assure all residents of the FCT, and indeed all Nigerians, that we have ample local supplies and national stock in excess of 2.5 billion llitres with the sufficiency of more than 43 days.
“The NNPC Ltd hereby advises motorists not to engage in panic buying as supplies are adequate and will become increasingly evident in the coming days.”