Fuel Scarcity: NNPC says two billion litres available, no planned hike in price of fuel _ FG

The federal government has declared that there was no plan to increase the pump price of petrol, during the Yuletide season.

However, the government’s comments are coming amid a worsening and persistent fuel scarcity, which spread further on Wednesday across the country.

The cost of the commodity has risen to as high as N285/litre in some filling stations in Abuja.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) insists the Federal Government has no intention of increasing the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) during the festive period.

The General Manager, of Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Mr Kimchi Apollo said this through an advisory which addressed speculations on the increase in price and availability of PMS.

It was reported on Wednesday that the pump price of petrol could hit N400/litre at most filling stations before the end of this year, going by the continued scarcity of the product, according to oil marketers.

The government has also advised Nigerians to avoid panic buying without acknowledging that several people are struggling to buy fuel.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited says it has two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit in stock.

This is contained in a statement issued by Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPC Limited, Mr Adeyemi Adetunji.

Adetunji said the stock of over two billion litres is equivalent to over 30 days of sufficiency.

The NNPC, he said, has programmed vessels and trucks to unconstrained depots while massive load-outs from depots to states are closely monitored to ease fuel queues.

The recent queues in Lagos are largely due to ongoing road infrastructure projects around Apapa and access road challenges in Lagos.