Nigerians won’t suffer petrol scarcity in December, says NNPC
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) says Nigerians will not encounter petrol scarcity in December and beyond.
Mr. Umar Ajia, the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC Ltd made the promise in Abuja on Monday when he appeared before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on the fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria.
According to Ajia, the company has come up with reasonable measures to avoid petrol scarcity in the country, even after the 2023 general election.
“We have extended our Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) contract by six months, to sustain the supply of PMS throughout the country.
“The DSDP contract in reality ended in August and it is a very dangerous period to begin to re-tender for that because we are facing the winter, these are the difficult months that we normally avoid fuel scarcity.
“You know the scarcity in Nigeria is associated with the Christmas period so if you now tender, the tendering process will take one or two months.
“So, what the board approved is to extend the contract for six months such that we have passed the winter and we have passed the election, otherwise we could have problems during the election,’’ he explained.
On his part, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ibrahim Al- Mustapha (APC-Sokoto) said that there was a need for an upward review of petrol prices in Nigeria, in line with the global price.
According to Al-Mustapha, petrol is sold for N536 per liter in the Niger Republic, N577 per liter in Mali, and N389 per liter in the Benin Republic.
However, Ajia said that petrol subsidised for Nigerians is being smuggled to neighbouring countries, adding that figures of petrol consumed, does not necessarily represent the true picture.
He also said that as a result of the porous borders, subsidised petrol meant to be consumed by Nigerians go as far as Mali and other neighbouring countries.
“If you have N5 million, you can cross the borders with trucks laden with petrol and that is the bitter truth, we have porous borders; yes we have customs but I do not know,” he said.
