NNPC assures INEC of petrol supply during elections

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on Tuesday assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of adequate supply of petroleum for election logistics.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Group, Mele Kyari, gave the assurance when a team, led by the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, visited the NNPC tower in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr. Yakubu met with the officials Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to seek to reduce the effects of the shortage of gasoline for the transportation of election materials and officials on election day.

He noted that the shortage of petroleum products experienced across the country could affect logistics operations on election day.

Speaking during the visit, Mr. Kyari said: “We know that logistics is a major component of the electoral task. NNPC always supports INEC, not in this direct form, to ensure that fuel is available for all vehicles involved in the electoral process.

“It goes without saying that there is no formal framework for this, and no proper formal request for this. All the same, we always remember the need to provide support to INEC whenever there is an election.

He said the visit was a challenge for oil companies to ensure that there is a stable political system in the country.

“Having said this, we are the largest downstream company in the country today. Six months ago, it was not like that, but now we have acquired great assets since we were incorporated as a limited liability company and we have spread throughout the country,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean we are in every city and town, there may be some locations that we don’t.

“We’ll work with your logistics team to identify those areas where we can’t do it so we can bring other marketing companies into the conversation to make the product available to all 100,000 vehicles that we’ve indicated.

“There is no difficulty in doing this, we have a presence, we are everywhere. But where not, we will provide a commercial conversation between the commission and other marketing companies so that if you need this product, you will have it.

weakness

In recent months, Nigerian motorists and household users have had a tough time getting petroleum products at filling stations across the country.

The shortage persists even though the government has repeatedly claimed that it has sufficient stocks of petroleum products.

Last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the constitution of a 14-member steering committee to deal with the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

On Friday, the NMDPRA attributed the remaining shortage of fuel in the country to disruptions in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.

However, the agency said there was an excess of 1.6 billion liters of gasoline as of January 26 on land and sea.

Despite the government’s position, PREMIUM TIMES’ found that Nigerians continue to suffer from shortage of petrol across the country.

A PREMIUM TIMES report, last Tuesday, detailed how Nigerians continue to mourn the distress caused by the shortage of petroleum products across the country as businesses and households that depend on generators for electricity supply lament the darkness.

Guarantee

Speaking on Tuesday, the NNPCL boss noted that the oil company is the only company that has a floating mega station in the country, adding that it will use this to facilitate marine operations in the river areas of the country.

“I assure you that as you know, we have taken extreme measures to see if we can contain the current distribution challenges and we believe that in the next week, there will be significant relief if not to eliminate the current situation we are facing,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Mr. Yakubu urged NNPC to make special arrangements with other marketers in locations where NNPC may not have dedicated stations for petrol supply.

“We decided to overcome the perennial challenge of the end of the polling for logistical reasons.

“However, this objective cannot be completed without the assurance of petroleum products to facilitate the movement of vehicles and boats,” he said.

The INEC boss said in an effort to mobilize every national institution to give Nigerians a pleasant experience on Election day, the commission believes that NNPC, as the national oil company, is one of the critical institutions that can facilitate the achievement of its objectives.

“We understand the efforts of the NNPC to alleviate the current situation in earnest. At the same time, we would like to ask you to consider the following proposal.

“The use of NNPC land and floating mega stations across the country to service election duty vehicles and boats. We will bear the cost of the products. By doing so, there will be guaranteed supply for the election.

“Make special arrangements with other marketers in locations where NNPC may not have dedicated stations and consider other options to support smooth operations on Election Day,” he said.