The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has urged Nigerians to disregard rumours of an impending scarcity of petrol in the country.

In a statement issued by Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC spokesman, the corporation said such rumours were “tales fabricated by mischief makers with intent to create undue panic in the prevailing sanity in the fuel supply and distribution matrix across the country”.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has once again appealed to Nigerians to disregard trending social media report of an impending fuel scarcity due to purported refusal by some oil  marketers to lift products from depots,” the statement read.

The state oil firm reassured Nigerians that it already has an ample stock of over one billion litres of petrol, with over two billion litres secured for April through imports of 48 vessels  with each having a capacity of 50 million litres of petrol.

It said there was “no need for panic buying or hoarding of petroleum products in anticipation of a phantom scarcity.”