Hope of final end to the noticeable fuel queues in major cities across the country appeared on the horizon on Wednesday with the commitment of oil marketers to support measures put in place by the Federal Government to restore sanity to the fuel supply and distribution condition within days.
At the end of a strategy session convened by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to address the fuel situation, members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA and the Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria, JEPTFON, pledged in unison to end the fuel queues as soon as possible.
Declaring the session open, the Minister of State charged the marketers to pick up the gauntlet and activate all necessary machinery and mechanism to guarantee unimpeded distribution of petroleum products across the country.
While pledging to eliminate all bottlenecks to fast track the process, Dr. Kachikwu urged the oil marketers to see the initiative as a national call to action. “We have gotten DPR, PEF and PPPRA to be a bit more flexible with the rules to allow for more movement of trucks and products massively,’’ He said.
Speaking on behalf of MOMAN, Femi Olawore, Secretary General of the Association was emphatic that the majors are willing and ready to work with the Petroleum Ministry and the NNPC to restore normalcy to the fuel situation.
“For us there is only one thing that we know how to do and that is to sell petroleum products in accordance with the law. For us it is just a matter of few days before we get to normalcy.’’ Olawore intoned.
He noted that MOMAN will never do anything that is against prevailing regulations on the supply and distribution of petroleum products.
Dapo Abiodun, leader of the DAPPMA delegation pledged the commitment of his members to work towards the achievement of Federal Government’s objective in ensuring free flow of petroleum products across the country.
Ifeanyi Uba, Chairman of JEPTFON while pledging the readiness of the petroleum tank farm owners to support the initiative, called for government assistance in clearing the perennial traffic carnage at the Apapa loading gantries.
