Ahead of the long Easter break, petroleum marketers on Thursday intensified loading of petroleum products at Mosinmi and Ejigbo depots in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
A NAN correspondent who monitored loading activities in both private and NNPC depots reports that long queues of trucks were seen awaiting their turns.
NAN also reports that additional loading pumps had been opened in Ejigbo and Mosinmi to fast-track loading and reduce the queue of trucks at the depots.
Some of the marketers claimed that over 100,000 metric tons of petrol had been imported by both NNPC and major oil marketers to cushion supply during the Easter break.
Dele Tajudeen, chairman, Mosinmi chapter, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the management of Pipelines Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) had put effective loading measure on ground to ease congestion.
Tajudeen assured Nigerians travelling during the Easter break not to panic as there was sufficient petrol in stock to go round.
He appealed to truck owners and marketers to maintain law and order at the loading gantry, adding that the management of PPMC had assured of 24-hours services.
Another marketer, Toyin Kaowojue, assured of normalcy at most filling stations when all marketers would have taken their turns to load.
“The artificial scarcity of petrol experienced in the country was as a result of panic buying”, he said.
Kaowojue said that loading had also commenced at NIPCO, Capital Oil and other private depots in Apapa.
He added that only major marketers were given priority to load first because they brought the products.
Some stations within Lagos metropolis were closed, while those who sell the products were experiencing minor queues.
