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Uche Usim, Abuja
Ahead of the first Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) which kicks off, on Monday, horrifying petrol queues which had become a part of Abuja, the nation’s capital, has thinned out.
This development might not be unconnected to the marching orders given by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.
Daily Sun checks on Sunday evening revealed that most of the filling stations which hitherto ran out of petrol, were seen dispensing the product.
Consequently, the long queues, which usually disrupted traffic flow, have substantially reduced even as motorists hoped the tempo is sustained.
A motorist, Onyekachi Nelson, described the queue reduction as magical.
“So government knows what to do to end this scarcity nightmare but kept quiet, leaving us to suffer.
“Where did this fuel sold everywhere come from? Why was it not sold all along? So, we should count the hosting of the petroleum summit as a huge blessing. So, what happens when the event ends on Thursday? Are we back to square one? Because the orders was to end the scarcity to avoid embarrassing our guests who would come from outside and see our filling stations littered with vehicles and hapless motorists. It’s a shame”, he lamented.
The four-day NIPS event is expected to attract players in the oil and gas sector from both OPEC and non-OPEC nations and other experts across the globe.
