The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Monday assured motorists and other consumers of petroleum products nationwide that the fire incident which occurred at Apapa loading jetty at the early hours of Monday will not affect supply of products.
A statement by the corporation quoted its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who has been fully briefed on the incident as assuring that the NNPC has over 1.6bn litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, enough to last for 48 days.
He also said the corporation had in stock sufficient quantity of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), (diesel), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) or kerosene, as well as Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) to serve the country.
Baru described the occurrence as unfortunate, even as a team of engineers has been deployed to the jetty while the repair of the affected parts would commence immediately.
The fire, according to the statement by Ndu Ughamadu, the corporation’s spokesman, was sparked from the activities of hoodlums who were scooping fuels spilled from ships discharging fuels at the jetty.
The NNPC advised motorists against engaging in panic buying, but should rather report any challenge they may have in the course of purchasing to offices nationwide of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) which is statutorily empowered to deal with such issues.
Meanwhile, the government is working assiduously to arrive at an amicable resolution of outstanding issues with the industry unions, the statement stressed.