The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it will be able to ensure the steady supply of all the petroleum products to every nook and cranny of Nigeria, especially in the South East of the country, only if the marketers stop profiteering and devious men stop vandalising the pipelines.

The Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this known in Enugu on Thursday during the NNPC Day at the ongoing 29th Enugu International Trade Fair.

Baru said that NNPC is ready to rehabilitate the Enugu Depot so that people in the South East and North Central could access the products easily but lamented that the activities of vandals have been making it difficult.

“We have paid attention to rehabilitate the pipelines. We are trying to ensure that the Enugu depot in the South East is working. We shall continue to make sure that steady petroleum products is supplied to people in this part of Nigeria,” Baru declared.

For instance Baru said that they have discovered about 685 points where the pipelines have been vandalised, noting that the vandalism is prevalent in Ishiagu area of Ebonyi State and Osisioma in Abia State and appealed to the management of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), organisers of the trade fair, to assist NNPC to appeal to Ebonyi and Abia to stop the vandalism.

“This is making it difficult to supply fuel to Enugu Depot. Enugu Depot is strategic also to those in the North Central. We need your assistance, ECCIMA’s assistance, to appeal to the people in Ishiagu in Ebonyi State and Osisioma in Abia State to stop the pipeline vandalism so that we can supply fuel to Enugu Depot,” the GMD said.

Baru pointed out that apart from vandalism, one thing that is hampering the free flow of supply of the petroleum products is that the marketers indulge in profiteering and sell the products above the government approved pump prices.

He said that they made sure that everywhere in Nigeria, the regulated prices are maintained but wondered that this is not obtainable in south-eastern states who often claim high cost of transportation whereas other areas transport theirs and still maintain the price.

The NNPC GMD urged Nigerians to report those that hoard the products or sell above the approved pump price to check the profiteering tendency among the marketers.