The federal government has assured the Nigerian public that there is no cause for alarm as concerns of an impending fuel scarcity crisis arise. This is following the long queues experienced in the nation’s capital, Abuja, earlier in the week.
Driving the news
In a statement by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Thursday, the federal government disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has in storage 2.65 billion liters of fuel which can meet the country’s demand for 47 days.
- Explaining the cause of fuel scarcity experienced earlier in the week, the agency said that this is due to low loadouts at fuel depots in the country, as a result of long public holidays, like in this case, the Sallah celebrations.
- The agency also highlighted an increase in fuel purchases associated with the return of Abuja residents from the public holidays.
Why it matters
The last thing Africa’s most populous nation needs is a case of fuel scarcity as experienced in February 2022 when NNPC imported 170.25litres of adulterated fuel from suppliers in Europe. This resulted in a 0.1% rise in inflation rate from 15.6% in January to 15.7% in February, which also adversely affected the prices of food and other household commodities.