Nigerian oil minister allays fears over scarcity

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ABUJA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Ibe Kachikwu, the minister in charge of petroleum resources in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, on Sunday allayed any apprehension from the fuel scarcity hitting parts of the country.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital, the minister said the country had gone past the era of fuel scarcity and urged motorists to desist from panic buying.

He assured Nigerians that there is sufficient Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as fuel in the country.

Local media reported on Saturday that fuel scarcity hit some cities in the country due to purported refusal by some oil marketers to lift products from depots.

"Yesterday, I saw a few pockets of scarcity in Abuja, but I was told that it was Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) related distribution issues, and it will be sorted out as soon as possible," Kachikwu told reporters.

"So, it is not an issue of lack of sufficiency, I am told they have about 28 day's sufficiency, two weeks ago, they presently have between 14 and 15 days product sufficiency," he added.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said in a statement that it has over 1 billion liters of petrol in stock, with an additional 48 vessels of 50 million liters committed for the month of April alone.

There is "no need for panic buying or hoarding of petroleum products in anticipation of a phantom scarcity," the NNPC added.

Also, oil marketers have said the shortage of petrol, which has hit some cities in the country, will ease soon.

Nigeria, one of the biggest oil producers in Africa, has been depending on fuel import to meet lion's share of its domestic demand because of lack in petroleum refinery capacity. Enditem

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