NNPC Decries Panic Buying As Petrol Queues Surface In Abuja

Motorists and other users of petrol formed long queues in front of many filling stations in Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states on Monday.

The queues surfaced despite assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that it had enough stock that would last for some months.

Our correspondent observed long queues of motorists at the Nipco and the NNPC filling stations on the busy Kubwa-Zuba Expressway in Abuja on Monday afternoon.

Also, the Major Oil Limited filling station on Airport Road bypass connecting Idu industrial area in Abuja had long queues of motorists.

Similar scenarios played out in front of two filling stations in Zuba, Niger State, as motorists struggled to purchase petrol.

A senior official at the Department of Petroleum Resources, Abuja Zonal Office, Saidu Mohammed, described the development as panic buying.

He said that the Department of Petroleum Resources would commence enforcement of sales and distribution of petroleum products from Tuesday (today) and it would run for the two-week period that the President ordered Nigerians to sit at home.

This came as the NNPC announced the activation of measures to guarantee seamless distribution of fuel across the country throughout the period of the lockdown and beyond.

According to the NNPC, the Managing Director of its downstream subsidiary – Petroleum Products Marketing Company, Musa Lawan, said the PPMC workforce had been mobilised to provide loading services throughout the period of the envisaged lockdown.