Fuel: Stop panic buying, IPMAN advises Nigerians

By Bassey Anthony, UyoThe Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has advised Nigerians to stop panic buying and stocking of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.IPMANs National Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, gave the advice on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.Yakubu said this while addressing reporters on the long fuel queues recorded at some filling stations in Abuja.The IPMAN spokesman decried the panic buying and the long queues at filling stations across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).He stressed that crude oil price had gone up, which he said had affected the prices of the finished products.Yakubu assured Nigerians that normal supply of petroleum products would soon be restored since loading had begun at various deports.Read Also: Petrol scarcity hits FCTWe want to assure the buyers that government and marketers are doing everything possible to ensure that the products are available in every filling station within a few days, starting from today, he said.But some motorists, who expressed disappointment over the development, urged filling stations that had fuel to sell.Also, the Federal Government is planning to co-opt local refiners into the mainstream crude oil refining to crash the pump price of petrol and other allied products.This happened as the government concluded plans to host a National Conference on Artisanal and Modular Refining on March 15.The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, announced this at the weekend in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State.The presidential aide assured Nigerians that the Presidency had taken necessary steps to crash the prices of petroleum products.Enang said the government had agreed to partner those in the creeks, especially those engaged in oil bunkering, on how to legalise their operations.We need to agree with those in the creeks on how to legalise their business because of the danger the current practice is posing to the environment and the economy of the country.Therefore, the Federal Government will, from March 15 to 17, hold a National Conference on Artisanal and Modular Refining to integrate local refiners into the mainstream refining in Nigeria.It is more necessary to do in-country refining to avoid certain duties and charges connected with importation of petroleum products. With this steps, it would be possible to have the products at less than N100 per litre, because other charges relating to clearing the cargo would have been dropped, he said.
Click here to read full news..