Loveth Okoli
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) started the week with the task of normalising the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at different filling stations in Nigeria following the strike embarked upon by Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) over remuneration.
The normalisation started with the increase in the daily supply of petrol across the country from 550 trucks to 1,661 trucks to combat the build-up of fuel queues.
It would be recalled that the intervention of Mr Mele Kyari, NNPC Group Managing Director, led to the suspension of the strike by the PTD for one week.
Kyari assured that with the resumption of loading, normalcy would soon return to the fuel stations across the country.
He said the ex-depot price of petrol would remain the same for the month of May, urging marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase.
Kyari urged motorists to avoid panic buying in order not to compound the situation.
He called on stakeholders in the downstream sector to collaborate with the NNPC to ensure a quick return to the zero-fuel queues situation that Nigerians had been enjoying before the unfortunate disruption of the distribution chain.
Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Musa Lawan, in the same vein said that there are about two billion litres of PMS in strategic depots across the country to keep the nation well supplied for two months if no drop of fuel was imported in that period.
The PPMC boss explained that the disruption in the distribution chain was caused by the strike embarked upon by Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) over remuneration.
He assured that with the suspension of the strike upon the intervention of the GMD of NNPC, and the resumption of loading, coupled with the extension of loading time, normalcy would soon return to the filling stations.
Also in the week, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers section of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) suspended its industrial action.
This followed the intervention Kyari after a meeting brokered between the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
The National Chairman of the PTD, Mr Salmon Oladiti, while announcing suspension of the strike, said the decision was based on the intervention of the GMD of the NNPC.
Also speaking, the President of NARTO, Mr Yusuf Othman, and the Chairman, Ardova Plc/President of the Prudent Group, Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami, who spoke on behalf of other marketers, commended the NNPC boss for his prompt initiative to wade into the matter.
Other issues discussed were the need for close collaboration with products marketers and security agencies to curtail the challenge of smuggling, seamless payment transactions between Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and marketers, and equitable distribution of PMS to all petroleum products marketing companies.
Within the week, a group of petroleum tanker owners in Nigeria under the auspices of the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) visited the NNPC Towers to appreciate the GMD of the NNPC for his efforts to bring sanity into the downstream sector of the oil industry.
