Article Summary
- The NMDPRA chief executive has appealed to marketing organizations to keep their fuel stations as fuel queues appear all over the country.
- Nigerians are reacting to the pronouncement made by President Tinubu that the fuel subsidy is gone.
- The past administration had previously taken action steps to ensure the removal of fuel subsidy by June 2023.
Engr. Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has also called on the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), and the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), to avoid hoarding and keep their fuel stations open.
He said:
- “We are asking all marketing companies especially MOMAN, DAPPMAN, and IPMAN, to keep their fuel stations open and avoid product hoarding.”
He said this while addressing the press on Monday, May 29, after President Tinubu declared the removal of fuel subsidy, as one of his first acts as president.
Reacting to the panic buying that has manifested in long queues at fuel stations across the country, the NMDPRA chief executive, Engr. Ahmed called on everyone to maintain calm. He said the law has taken its course and as regulators, the NMDPRA will ensure that the consumers are not taken advantage of.
According to Engr. Ahmed, the public must remain calm and avoid panic buying. He also said President Tinubu is right to remove the fuel subsidy because the past administration had already made moves toward the removal.
He said:
- “The pronouncement by Mr. President is in line with the provisions of the law. For NNPCL to survive the action needs to be taken as quickly as possible.
- “We will engage with the NNPCL to ensure there is a continuous flow of petroleum products, especially the premium motor spirit (petrol), to prevent any shortfall in the country. We have noticed some queues in the Federal Capital Territory and other parts of the country. This is just panic buying as a reaction to the pronouncement by Mr. President.”
What you should know
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (Limited), Mele Kyari has said that President Tinubu’s declaration is not enough reason for people to rush to fuel stations to buy more than what they need. He claimed that the NNPCL is watching all the distribution networks and support facilities and they believe that normalcy will be restored very soon.
- The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had previously appealed to the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to rush into taking any decision on the fuel subsidy removal, until the petroleum products from the newly commissioned Dangote Refinery are in the market.
