The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has warned against the panic buying of petroleum products in the country.
This was said in a statement issued by the NNPC after members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAAN) over Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System embarked on a nationwide strike.
Prior to today, there had been mounting insinuation of possible scarcity of petroleum products following ongoing disagreement between the Federal Government and members of PENGASSAN on the implementation of IPPIS.
The statement titled ‘PENGASSAN strike: NNPC says no need for panic buying’, was signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru.
The NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, was quoted in the statement as saying, “the industrial action embarked upon by PENGASSAN would not lead to scarcity of petroleum products as all fuel stations and petrol depots in the country have enough stock of products to service consumers and are open for business.”
While Kyari expressed hope that the industrial dispute would be settled amicably, he assured that “the Corporation has thus far emplaced a stock of over 2.9 billion litres of petrol to guarantee seamless movement of people, goods and services across the country in the forthcoming Christmas season and beyond”.
Mallam Kyari also reiterated that “the Corporation is determined to make the 2020 end-of-year festivities a zero fuel queue period just like the preceding year”, noting that “critical stockholders in the petroleum products supply and distribution chain such as tanker drivers, depot owners and road transport owners have been mobilized to ensure hitch-free season.”
