The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Department of State Services met with the key stakeholders in the midstream and downstream oil sector on Thursday.
At the meeting, all participants agreed to work together to clear the persistent queues by motorists at filling stations nationwide for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, within the next 48 hours.
The meeting also had the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, among others.
The Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Clement Isong, said operators would ensure that they implemented the decisions reached at the meeting.
“As these decisions are being implemented, the queues will subside. We have committed to work with NNPC to continuously improve operational efficiency in order to achieve operational excellence,” he said.
The Executive Secretary, DAPPMAN, Femi Adewole, said the foreign exchange challenge faced by depot owners was also discussed and efforts were on to address it.
He said, “The challenges to marketers, especially depot owners, were explained and the meeting agreed and actually noted the forex component challenge and its input into our cost should in all ideal cases be recovered reasonably. That was agreed upon.
“We also agreed that based on the assurances of products given to marketers, provided by NNPC, we will ensure that, going forward, all depots work 24 hours based on the security risks appraised.
“We will work 24 hours to ensure that the queues in town are reduced. Our retail outlets, spread nationwide, will also ensure that they sell 24 hours based on our security situation appraised. I want to assure Nigerians that, going forward, they will be able to get fuel in filling stations without too much hitch or harassment.”
The IPMAN Chairman, Chinedu Okoronkwo, stated that marketers had been asked not to do anything that would jeopardise their licences, as the association had committed to that resolution.
