Motorist and commercial motorcycle operators popularly known as Okada have called on the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to increase the volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, supplied to the NNPC mega station in Ogwashi-Uku.
Those who spoke to our correspondent in Ogwashi-Uku stressed that the usual one tanker of petrol supplied to the mega station is a far cry from what is needed.
It was explained that the number of customers that besiege the mega station daily to buy petrol far exceeds what was supposed to be supplied to the mega station.
“Customers in the metropolis need more than three tankers of Premium Motor Spirit to meet their daily needs”, said a source.
A commercial motorist plying the Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic route, who identified himself as Chijiioke, explained that buying petrol from the NNPC mega station is not often easy due to the limited quantity.
“With the continuous outrageous prices the independent petrol station owners sell their product, most persons now falls back on buying from the NNPC mega station.
“But the problem we are facing here is the limited number of tankers that come to supply fuel to the mega station. There is no reason why NNPC’s management will be sending only one tanker of fuel to the mega station here.”
“Considering the number of patronage they get, this mega station needs no less than three tankers of petrol everyday if they must meet our needs. “Or, is it that NNPC itself is not having enough petrol to supply to their mega station?”, he queried.
“If you go to other independent dealers they sell as high as N850 and above for a litre of fuel, while the mega station sells at less than N600.
“So the management of NNPC should do well to increase the volume of supply of the product to Ogwashi-Uku mega station”, he pleaded.
A commercial motorcycle operator on his part, explained that for the presence of the NNPC mega station in the metropolis, it would have been impossible for them to operate.
“This is because the amount charged by the independent petrol station owners in the metropolis is just senseless. That is why every morning you find a long queue here.
“But the problem we are facing is that the quantity of petrol they bring to this mega station is not enough to take care of the daily demand. We don’t need anything less than three to four tankers of fuel in Ogwashi-Uku every day.
“That we have to line up here every morning waiting to buy fuel is because the mega station operators sell with just two nuzzles whereas the station hasmuch more.
“So, you can see that if enough petrol is supplied to the station, the sellers can use up to six nuzzles to dispense the product. NNPC should do well to increase the volume they are sending to Ogwashi-Uku.
“It is a fact that without the mega station it would have been literally impossible for us to operate with the persistent fuel scarcity”, he said.
