SAN FRANCISCO, November 17, (THEWILL) – The Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources, who also doubles as the Group General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has directed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to distribute petrol of any filling stations involved in hoarding to customers free of charge.
Kachikwu announced this during his tour and monitoring of fuel stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said that the decision became necessary due to the actions of some stations that hoard petrol to the detriment of consumers.
“I have instructed DPR as they proceed on monitoring that any station that has the product and they are hoarding, they should sell all the products for free to customers,” he said, noting that marketers involved in sharp practices would also face heavy sanctions.
“We are going to impose very serious penalty to the fuel station. So selling their products is not the answer, it is penalising them when they do this.
“I hope the message goes out loud and clear. I urge Nigerians to be patient, stop panic buying; there is product for everybody,” he added.
Kachikwu also directed a 24-hour service operation by fuel stations, to serve Nigerians better.
“I am instructing NNPC retail stations to stay open for 24 hours; the police will provide protection for them.
“Major fuel marketers should move in and supply products and take responsibility for their stations just like we are taking responsibility for our own retail stations,” he said.
Kachikwu added that the queue in the stations could also be attributed to the pipelines not being able to pump effectively.
He said measures had been put in place to activate some of the pipelines.
He also said that the delay in the process of releasing the approved subsidy money for oil marketers had limited the ability of some individuals to import fuel into the country.
He, however, added that processes were being finalised by the National Assembly for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release the approved funds.
