The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, says the government and regulatory authorities are making efforts to end fuel scarcity across Nigeria.

The minister disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja after a meeting with key leaders in the petroleum industry.

Mr Sylva spoke shortly after meeting with NNPC boss Mele Kyari. and Farouk Ahmed, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) CEO, among others.

“This kind of supply disruptions are like accidents, they are not desirable, we do not expect them to happen but they happened once in a while. This administration has done well as far as fuel supply is concern. I am quite happy to hear from the NNPC GMD and CEO of NMDPRA on all they have been doing to ensure the scarcity is controlled,” he stated.

He added, “From all the figures shown to me the supply is there, so why are they hoarding it, in the next few days we will be able to overcome those unscrupulous elements and make sure products get to Nigerians.”

According to Mr Kyari, as of Thursday evening, NNPC had up to 1.79 billion litres of petrol on the ground, continuing 24-hour loading at the depots and selling.

“We are working with the regulatory authorities, particularly the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to ensure normalcy,” he assured. 

(NAN)