From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Filling station owners, under the aegis of Association of Mega Filling Station Owners of Nigeria (AMFSON), have canvassed for strategic overhauling of distribution network of petroleum products across the country.
AMFSON said only strategic overhauling of the distribution network of petroleum products that will stem the incessant scarcity of petroleum products across the country.
President of AMFSON, Davidson Ukatta, in a statement, said the overhaul should as a matter of urgency, include the reduction of dependency on private petroleum farm tanks for the storage of imported products to fuel depot’s owned and managed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Ukatta said the over-dependence on private tanks has, over the years, proved not to be very effective in products distribution across the country.
He regretted that minor natural disasters end up disrupting logistics for product distribution.
“Government should, as a matter of urgency, look into the need to revive NNPC fuel depot’s across the country.
“Pumping fuel into these abandoned depots will ensure supplies are replenished within short periods unlike the present situation whereby supplies take longer time as products come all the way from Lagos.
“Government should ensure each geopolitical zone has a functional fuel depot from where filling stations from the zone will restock their supplies rather than waiting for supplies from Lagos,” Ukatta said in the statement.
The AMFSON president reiterated that his association remains the missing link in the sustainable and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country.
“AMFSON remains the most reliable platform for the supply and distribution of petroleum products as our members are located in all nooks and crannies of the country,” he said.
Ukatta, therefore, called for stronger partnership between AMFSON and other critical stakeholders in the downstream sector to save the public from the problem of perennial fuel scarcity to the national economy.