By Ewache Ajefu
A few days after the Ije-ododo pipeline vandalism and fire outbreak in Lagos, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has announced the full and comprehensive restoration of the Ije-ododo pipeline to normalcy adding that pumping of premium motor spirit, (petrol), has resumed in earnest to Depots and tank farms in the system 2B, spaning from Atlas-Cove to Ilorin.
The Acting Group General Manager of the Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple stated this during a media chat with Journalists in Abuja.Mr. Pepple assured Nigerians and motorists that with the restoration of the Ije-ododo pipeline and the NNPC system 2b pipeline, normalcy has been restored in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the length and breadth of the country.
“I can affirm to you that our Engineers from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited, (PPMC), have finally fixed the Ije-Ododo pipeline that was ruptured last Monday by activities of pipeline vandals. Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping of petroleum products through the pipeline and system 2b is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline,” Mr. Pepple submitted.
He described media reports that fuel scarcity and queues in some parts of the country may last beyond the new year as mischievious, noting that the Corporation still maintains zero tolerance to fuel scarcity and fuel queues in filling stations.
He stated that the recent fuel queues were basically due to the activities of pipeline vandals, the closure of a number of filling stations due to the Xmas holidays and not shortage of petroleum products.
The NNPC Spokesman revealed that the Corporation has product sufficiency that can sustain the country for more than a month stressing that concerted efforts by the NNPC to wet every part of the country with petrol to ease the movement of people as they travel from one place to the other before and after the New Year, is continuous and will be sustained.
Mr. Pepple called on Marketers to avoid the nefarious diversion of petroleum products to black marketers adding that stringent punitive actions would be meted out to those found wanting. He enjoined marketers of petroleum products to team up with the NNPC to ensure sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products into the New Year.
He also enjoined motorists to desist from panic buying stressing that there is no truth in the on-going rumours that there will be an increase in the pump price of fuel in January 2013, saying that the Federal Government has made budgetary provision for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget which was recently passed by the National Assembly.
