The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the commencement of a 15-day emergency fuel supply operation to ensure the distribution of petroleum products across the entire country.
The government revealed that vessels transporting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) would continue to dock at ports to unload petrol into various depots, facilitating its distribution to filling stations nationwide.
The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria issued a press statement confirming the receipt of 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels in Apapa and other Lagos locations this week.
This comes after Ayo Cardoso, the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, confirmed the offloading of 240 million litres of petrol at various depots on Monday, with an additional 85 million litres as of Tuesday evening.
Cardoso assured that efforts were underway to ensure widespread availability of PMS across the country, with more vessels scheduled to arrive in Nigeria over the next two weeks, continuing the steady distribution of petrol to filling stations.
Each state has been allocated its share of fuel, aimed at reducing queues at filling stations and ensuring equitable distribution nationwide.
Cardoso emphasised that the current measures would alleviate the fuel scarcity situation soon, urging the public not to panic.
However, the fuel scarcity persisted, leading to a surge in transport fares and prompting many residents of Nigeria to resort to trekking as they faced challenges accessing transportation due to the lingering crisis.