The shortfall in supply of petroleum products is the major cause of the fuel scarcity currently being experienced by Nigerians across the country, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has said.
The minister, who made the disclosure at a news briefing yesterday in Abuja, however, assured that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was making concerted efforts to ensure that queues at filling stations disappeared in a couple of days.
“Presently, queues in Lagos have reduced. We know that Lagos, Abuja, Benue, Port Harcourt were among the worst-hit areas.
“Benue has been dealt with; Port Harcourt is quite moderated. Apart from these areas, other places in the country are probably liquid.
“The major problem is the gap in terms of volume, because NNPC is the only one importing the product to the country”, Kachikwu said.
It would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had during its meeting on Wednesday, directed the minister to bring an end to the growing number of queues being witnessed in petrol stations across the country by this weekend.