The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has directed the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA to embark on renewed special supply intervention measures to ensure a country-wide availability of petroleum products ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond.
The NNPC in a statement informed that the special supply intervention mechanism which entails the ramping up of additional supply via massive truck-out to guarantee product penetration to the nooks and crannies of the country teed-off over the weekend.
The Corporation stated that daily fuel truck out to locations such as Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Ibadan and Jos have been increased significantly to enhance free flow of products across the country.
The NNPC stated that it is consolidating its strategic alliance with some major depot owners and oil marketers with strong regional logistics outlay in those areas to ensure maximum infiltration of products especially in the hinterland ahead of the forthcoming Christmas and New year festivities.
While calling on members of the public to refrain from hoarding, product diversion and panic buying of petrol, the Corporation noted that the intervention measure would help circumvent the challenges posed by the unavailability of pipelines for the transportation of petroleum products.
It noted that product diversion is an economic crime and warned that it will not hesitate to report offenders to the security agencies for prosecution.
