The pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) will not be increased in January, the Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Fidel Pepple, has assured.
He gave the guarantee on Sunday in Abuja while speaking with journalists, adding that the Federal Government has already made provisions for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget. He also revealed the restoration of the vandalised pipelines in Ije-Ododo, Lagos State and Arepo, Ogun State.
“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 pipeline vandals,” Pepple said.
“Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping petroleum products through the pipeline and system 2B is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline.”
He gave assurances that with the restoration of the Ije-Ododo pipeline and the NNPC system 2B pipeline, supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country would begin to flow as expected.
He added that pumping of petrol to depots and tank farms in system 2B had since resumed, from Atlas-Cove in Lagos to Ilorin in Kwara.
Pepple described as “mischievous and misleading,” media reports that fuel scarcity in certain parts of the country could outlast New Year celebrations, saying that NNPC has sufficient fuel to last the country for more than a month.
To complement the corporation’s efforts, he appealed to fuel marketers to be cooperative in ensuring steady supply and distribution of petroleum products, and implored motorists to resist the temptation of panic buying and fuel hoarding.
