Buhari orders clamp down on fuel hoarders, says crisis “regrettable”

President Muhammadu Buhari expressed sympathy with Nigerians over the scarcity of petrol across the country, reassuring that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was on top of the situation.
The President, reacting to the long queues at various filling stations across the country, in a statement personally signed by him and posted on his twitter handle, said the scarcity was regrettable.
He stated that he was being briefed regularly on the matter by the NNPC and assured that the situation would improve positively in the next few days.
The President disclosed that he had already directed regulators to step up their surveillance and bring an end to hoarding of the products and price inflation by marketers.
President @MBuhari on
#FuelScarcity : I have the NNPC’s assurance that the situation will improve significantly over the next few days, as new shipments and supplies are distributed across the country. pic.twitter.com/9Zqc0FKf1h
— Govt of Nigeria (@AsoRock)
December 24, 2017
“The fuel scarcity being experienced nationwide is regrettable. I sympathize with all Nigerians on having to endure needless fuel queues.
“I’m being regularly briefed, especially on the NNPC’s interventions to ensure that there is enough petrol available during this period and beyond.
“I have the NNPC’s assurance that the situation will improve significantly over the next few days, as new shipments and supplies are distributed across the country.
“I have also directed the regulators to step up their surveillance and bring an end to hoarding and price inflation by marketers,
“Let me also assure that the relevant agencies will continue to provide updates on the situation. I thank you all for your patience and understanding.”
Correspondents of plusmilang.com monitoring the fuel situation reported that a litre of fuel now sells for between N175 and N250 in most filling stations owned by independent petroleum product marketers across the country.
A motorist in Mararaba, Alhaji Mansur Mande told plusmilang.com that he bought 4-litre gallon of fuel at the cost of N1,200 on Saturday.
A Plusmila correspondent in Enugu who visited the filling stations in the city on Sunday observed that the product was sold for N250 per litre.
plusmilang.com, however, observed that major marketers like Total, Oando and NNPC filling stations were selling the product at the official price of N145 per litre but in chaotic situations and endless queues at the stations.
Similar scenes of chaos are being reported from other states including Lagos, Sokoto, Kano Port Harcourt and Ibadan.