NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru has cut short his trip to London owing to fresh fuel scarcity in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Baru, who was billed to receive the Forbes Oil & Gas Man of the Year Award 2017 in the British Capital on Tuesday, flew back home to attend to what he described as a “matter of urgent national importance.”

Some Independent Petroleum Marketers were alleged to have deliberately hoarded the products, leading to long queues at some filling stations in cities across the country.

A statement from NNPC’s General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, on Tuesday, however, said the firm’s boss assured Nigerians that there were sufficient products to cater for the needs of the citizens.

Mr Baru reacted to the development before his departure from the country, where he again stressed that everything was being done to address the situation.

“For the umpteenth time, I wish to call on all Nigerians to stop panic buying. We have said times without number that NNPC has sufficient products to cater for the needs of all consumers,” he said.

Before leaving for London, the GMD had directed that more truckload of petroleum products be dispatched to various parts of the country to cushion the effects of excessive demand caused by panic buying.

Earlier, the NNPC had announced that there was no plan whatsoever to increase the prices of petroleum products both at the ex-depot level and pump price ahead of the forthcoming yuletide.

NNPC’s spokesman also gave the assurance that the ex-depot petrol price of N133.38 per litre and the pump price of N143/N145 per litre have not changed.

This according to him is because the Corporation has enough stock of fuel to ensure seamless supply and distribution of products across the country.

The statement read in part: “While assuring that the Corporation has the full commitment of all downstream stakeholders including petroleum marketers and industry unions to cooperate in achieving zero fuel scarcity this season and beyond, the NNPC enjoined motorists and other users of petroleum products to disregard trending rumours of an impending fuel price hike as reported in some news platforms.

“The Corporation also noted that its downstream subsidiary companies namely the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and NNPC Retail Limited are fully geared up to ensure that motorists enjoy uninterrupted access to petrol throughout the nation during the yuletide period and beyond.”