The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Thursday said about 407.13 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was available at various depots in Lagos State.

The Authority also advised motorists and Lagos residents not to engage in any panic buying of PMS, also known as petrol, because there was no fear of scarcity of petroleum products ahead of the Yuletide season.

Ayorinde Cardoso, Zonal Operations Controller, NMDPRA, Lagos, made these known during a surveillance exercise on some petrol stations across the state.

Some of the filling stations visited were within the Mainland and Island axes of the state.

He said: “We are going out to carry out our usual surveillance and the purpose of this is to assure the public that we have sufficient products.

“We have been getting information that there is scarcity in some parts of the federation but for Lagos, we have sufficient products.

“As of this morning, we have about 407.13 million litres of PMS. So there is no need for any panic buying by members of the public.”

Mr Cardoso said apart from product availability, the surveillance exercise was to ensure that there was no under-dispensing of petroleum products by filling stations.

The zonal controller noted that the inspection team was also checking product quality due to recent reports of water ingress in some tanks of filling stations in Lagos.

He said it was also to ensure that the filing stations were operating in compliance with the prerequisite safety standards of the authority for the industry.

According to him, the Authority has shut down 425 petrol stations from January to October for various infractions including under dispensing, safety breaches as well as operating without valid licenses.

Mr Cardoso, therefore, warned marketers to desist from hoarding of products and other nefarious activities, stressing that the authority would not hesitate to sanction such erring stations.

He said: “I want to assure the public that the sufficiency level in Lagos State is okay and for now we have not seen any hoarding of products.

”Surveillance is a regular assignment for us and our officials are going round everyday for that purpose.” 

(NAN)