The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has appealed to Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of petrol, saying it has enough in stock.

NMDPRA the chief executive officer Farouk Ahmed told journalists in Lagos on Tuesday.

Mr Ahmed said he had checked with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) on the level of fuel stock and confirmed that they had sufficient stock.

“l spoke with the MOMAN’S executive secretary this morning, and he told me they have sufficient stock. I have directed them to start evacuating the product immediately to filling stations,” he said.

Mr Ahmed added, “From now till tomorrow, the situation will be back to normal. I don’t know what is happening, but we are on top of the situation.”

He appealed to the public to avoid panic buying as efforts were being made to resolve the shortage in filling stations in Lagos and other parts of the coubtry.

The national operations controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, attributed the scarcity to unsteady supply in the past few days.

Mr Osatuyi told journalists that due to the unsteady supply, depot prices had risen from N165 to N177 and N178 per litre in Apapa and its environs.

“The marketers will only sell what they buy. If the price of petrol increases, we add our transportation cost and other charges to the selling price,” he said.

He appealed to NNPC and NMDPRA to supply enough petrol across the country to ease scarcity.

Queues have begun to build in some filling stations in Maryland, Onipanu, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. Abuja residents also complained about long queues at petrol stations.

(NAN)