NNPC, Major Marketers pledge to end Kerosene Scarcity in 10 Days

Source: pointblanknews.com

 
Hope of an accelerated end to the artificially induced scarcity and hike in the price of House Hold Kerosene, HHK appeared on the horizon Tuesday as the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN pledged to bring the situation to an end within the next 10 days.

Speaking at a joint press conference after a protracted close door meeting with Major Oil Marketers at the NNPC Towers Abuja, Group Managing Director of the Corporation Engr. Austen Oniwon announced that concrete measures are in place to end the kerosene issue within the next 10 days.

He stated that all the principle stakeholders have undertaken to ensure that kerosene is available in major marketers controlled filing stations ( Oando, Mobil, Conoil, Total, AP, MRS) nationwide within the next 10 days as  well as in all NNPC Retail stations.

 “The summary of what we are here to do today is to reassure Nigerians that the principal stakeholders have given an undertaking that within the next 10 days household kerosene will be available in all major marketers' retail outlets in addition to all NNPC mega stations nationwide”, Oniwon stated.

The NNPC helmsman who assured that the Corporation has enough stock of kerosene to last for 40 days outside of what is produced by the refineries also disclosed that plans were on to reach out to other stakeholders in the downstream sector to ensure that normalcy is permanently restored to the kerosene supply and distribution network in the country.

Explaining why the NNPC affiliate stations are not included in the new distribution arrangement, the GMD said most of them have been found not to operate to the standard required by the Corporation and that very soon the substandard ones would be weeded out and stopped from wearing NNPC colours and logo.

Oniwon informed that in the days ahead, the NNPC would hold similar meeting with members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, to firm up similar commitment.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Femi Olawore, who spoke on behalf of the association, pledged the commitment of members of the association to work towards the achievement of the 10 days undertaken.

“We have been given the assurance that we will get the product in large quantity. We give ourselves 10 days, with the product coming in, we would like to assure you that we will start immediately and we shall all see the effect of pumping the product into our retail network and to the consumer. We want to say that we have done it before and we are ready to do it again,” Olawore stated.