The House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources (Midstream and Downstream) have reassured Nigerians that the long queues at filling stations across the country will disappear within the next one or two days. They attributed the fuel scarcity to logistic problems, which have now been resolved.
Committee Chairmen Ikenga Ugochinyere and Henry Odianosen Okojie addressed reporters at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, stating that the issues ranged from difficulties in transporting products from mother vessels to onshore, movement of products with marine shuttle vessels, and disruptions in the Escravos channels, among others.
Ugochinyere stated that petroleum products were available, with the country's storage facilities holding about 1.5 billion litres of petrol, enough to last 30 days. He mentioned that the National Assembly had liaised with stakeholders in the petroleum distribution value chain, including regulatory bodies and associations, to address the issues causing the long queues.
The committees engaged extensively with stakeholders and are convinced that the situation is temporary. They assured Nigerians that the challenges will be cleared in a few days, urging against panic and warning against the activities of middlemen taking advantage of the situation for profit.
The committees called on security forces to support stakeholders in detecting and dealing with economic sabotage, such as hoarding, price increments, product diversion, and smuggling. They emphasized the need for traders and service providers not to exploit the situation and assured that the temporary challenge would be resolved soon.
