The Federal Government yesterday assured Nigerians of adequate fuel supply throughout the holiday season and beyond, saying that it currently has over 2.2 billion in its reserves to last about 40 days.

Aside petrol, the government stated that it has enough diesel and aviation fuel supply reserves projected to last for 45 days and 34 days respectively.

A statement in Abuja by the Executive Director, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, warned marketers against market manipulation so as not to plunge the country into difficulties.

The PPPRA assures Nigerians of availability of petroleum products throughout the yuletide period. The average stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, for both inland and marine between 12th and 18th December 2020 stood at 2,230,400,000 litres. This translates to 39.83 days sufficiency.

The country also has a total average volume of 623,080,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel with 44.51 days’ sufficiency, which signals good news for luxury buses that are expected to dominate long travels during the festive season.

In addition to petrol and diesel availability, Nigeria has 25 days sufficiency of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) with a total of 75,780,000 litres and 34.18 days sufficiency with a total of 25,293,200 litres of Household Kerosene (HHK) for domestic use.

The PPPRA advises marketers to operate within the confines of the rules guiding operations in the downstream and shun unwholesome practices that could cause Nigerians untold hardship during the festive period and beyond,

the statement said.

The PPPRA reiterated that when fully operational, the recent deployment of the autogas scheme will ensure that cheaper and cleaner fuels are available to Nigerians.
It added:

The federal government remains intensely focused on executing the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP); its gas masterplan that will result in many fuel retail outlets being able to dispense gas to motorists in the new year.

The NGEP autogas rollout of 1st December, 2020 and the ongoing motor vehicle tank conversion exercise at various centres, will herald the proliferation of a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol for Nigerians.

With growing investor confidence in the country’s petroleum downstream catalysed by the deregulation policy and concerted efforts in actualising the ‘Year of Gas’, the PPPRA would like to, once again, assure all stakeholders that the vision for a vibrant, self-sustaining downstream sector remains a priority and we are working tirelessly to achieve this.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.