Buhari okays plan to end fuel scarcity in days ― Presidency source

The Federal Government is working on a plan to end the current petrol scarcity in the country and bring those perpetuating it to book.

This is according to a Presidency source who revealed on Sunday that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the plan before jetting out of the country for his present medical vacation in the UK.

The source also disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the measure during last week’s meeting.

According to the source, the plan is to conclusively end the fuel scarcity around the country and is expected to ensure that no such scarcity repeats itself again in the country.

It added that in a matter of days virtually every state in the country would have returned to a very low queue situation in the filling stations or a completely restored situation with no long queues anymore.

It also said the plan includes clear goals for a conclusive determination on the initial cause of the scarcity with attendant consequences imposed.

The source added: “The plan is designed to do everything necessary to end the scarcity quickly and hold those responsible for it in the first instance responsible so as to avoid a repeat.”

“Indeed under the Buhari administration what used to be an incessant and recurring decimal of fuel scarcity had been reduced to its barest minimum until the recent case of adulterated PMS, an incident that incurred the President’s wrath.

“But the plan drawn up by the NNPC executives had won the endorsement of the President and the praise of the VP especially because of the 24-hour round the clock operations, including 24-hour sales in major supply centres in the country and the 24-hour continuous loading at all depots coordinated personally by the Group Managing Director Mr. Mele Kyari himself with the active participation of the Director-General of the DSS, Alhaji Yusuf Bichi.

“The 24-operations also has an enforcement element with monitoring teams “to prevent any act of sabotage and ensure smooth operations.”

“That 24-hour operation also included the direct participation and support of members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and private depot owners.

“By the end of last week, the country had over one billion litres total PMS stock, equivalent to about a month sufficiency based on the 60 million litres per day evacuation of the PMS. Lagos and Warri/Oghara loading zones hold the highest land stock of PMS with over 200m litres and over 100m litres respectively. The balance of the stock is held as Marine Stock.

“The endorsed plan also maintains the high evacuation rate: which is the total amount of stock supplied until such a time that the distribution situation is normalised.

“By the middle of last week a National Filling Stations Queue Map presented to the Presidency and at FEC indicated that fuel supply had returned to normal in 4 states of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and the FCT.

“In another 6 states, there were very small queues with mostly about ten cars at a time. Those states are Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi.

“It also indicated that in 13 States there were Medium Queues of maximum 50 cars. Those States are Delta, Rivers, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Kano, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto and Zamfara.

“In the rest of the 14 States, there were still High Queues of above 50 cars at a time in the Filling Stations as at the middle of last week.”

The Presidency source affirmed that the most important thing to this Presidency is that “this scarcity is quickly ended and a recurrence firmly avoided in the future. This now seems certainly possible.”

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