With Nigeria’s presidential elections over, petrol depots resume operations

NWAFOR ARINZE, Lagos

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says its loading depots have resumed operations after restrictions of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The NMDPRA said truck drivers’ movement was restricted during the recently concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections that were held on February 25.

The restriction helped truck drivers to travel to exercise their civic duty, the agency said. 

In a statement, the Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Farouk Ahmed said the NMDPRA is working with other stakeholders to ease the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) that had become constricted. 

According to the NMDPRA, the current stock sufficiency stands at 35.39 days for PMS, 34.86 days for Automotive Gas Oil and 31.36 days for Aviation Turbine Kerosene. 

Ahmed went on to advise against panic buying, saying that the agency will guarantee supply and distribution reliability nationwide.

In the weeks leading up to the February 25 elections, there was a fuel price hike that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva urged the NMDPRA to resolve and ease the distribution.

Sylva had assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the distribution challenge caused by the petrol scarcity would not impede the elections.

After the February elections that were marred by irregularities and pockets of violence across the country, the INEC declared Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress candidate president.