Kachikwu orders increased supply of petrol to Nigerians during Christmas and New Year celebrations

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has directed the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to embark on renewed special supply intervention measures to ensure availability of petroleum products ahead of the Yuletide and beyond.

The NNPC, in a statement, said the special supply intervention mechanism, which entails the ramping up of additional supply via massive truck-out to guarantee product penetration to the nooks and crannies of the country started over the weekend.

The corporation stated that daily fuel truck out to locations such as Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Ibadan and Jos have been increased significantly to enhance free flow of products across the country.

The NNPC stated that it was consolidating its strategic alliance with some major depot owners and oil marketers with strong regional logistics outlay in those areas to ensure maximum infiltration of products, especially in the hinterland ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Calling on the public to refrain from hoarding, product diversion and panic buying of petrol, the corporation noted that the intervention measure would help circumvent the challenges posed by the unavailability of pipelines for the transportation of petroleum products.

President Buhari to head Ministry of petroleum for 18 months

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to head the Ministry of Petroleum for 18 months before appointing a substantive minister for the ministry.

The President said this while meeting with some members of his political party, the All Progressives Congress, in Abuja recently.

One of those at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Sunday said that the President said he would use the 18 months of heading the petroleum ministry to reposition it.

According to him,

“At the meeting we had recently, we discussed the issues of portfolios and other matters,” the President said he was going to handle the Ministry of Petroleum himself for about 18 months.

“He said it was after this that he would appoint a substantive minister for the ministry. He said he would only personally handle the reorganisation of the much-important ministry.

“Besides, he said the ministry needed to be reformed and be rid of corruption. He promised to sanitise the ministry.”