The Senate yesterday summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachickwu, to appear before it today and offer explanations behind the unending fuel scarcity across the country. The summon was issued by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), after carrying out on-thespot assessment of the crisis situation in major filling stations within the Abuja metropolis. Worried by the pathetic state of affairs they met on ground, with many filling due to alleged lack of supply from the NNPC Depot in Suleja, the committee’s Acting Chairman, Jibrin Barau, said the petroleum minister had to appear and explain what led to this alarming development and the way out of the trouble.
He said the situation was so worrisome that the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, had to ask the committee to urgently intervene in order to salvage Nigerians from the deepening crisis. His words: “This situation is very bad and unacceptable; hence, the need for the minister to appear before us tomorrow (today) and unveil his plan of the way out of the chaos to us.
“Even if he doesn’t have any plan yet out of the lingering problem, the Senate President and the entire members of the committee are more than ready to rub minds with him for that needed purpose.” Senate Minority Whip and a member of the committee, Philip Aduda, called on the Federal Government to arrest the situation as quickly as possible, by making fuel available to Nigerians. He said that what Nigerians needed was availability of fuel at the filling stations across the country and not the on-going blame game and media warfare within the ranks of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Government should look for petrol and ensure that it is given to the people. The current situation is unacceptable; we are Nigerians and it will be bad for us to continue remaining on queues. “If the APC leaders like, let them blame themselves; that is their problem, but the most important thing is for us to have fuel in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is what we are looking for and that is what we want.
We want to see all these queues disappear,” he stated. Petrol marketers at the various stations visited by the lawmakers lamented that lack of supply and inadequate supply of petrol by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), recently, resulted in the present scarcity being witnessed across the country.
The Manager of Forte Oil, located directly opposite Transcorp Hilton, Maitama District, explained that he used to receive five to six tankers of fuel daily, but the supply had been reduced to three tankers daily. National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, berated the minister for his handling and comments over the fuel scarcity. Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday vowed to withdraw the license of any erring marketer hoarding petroleum products. The corporation stated this in a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Garba Deen Muhammed.
The state-owned oil firm maintained that the monitoring has been intensified to ensure full compliance with approved prices. “Violations of approved prices and hoarding of petroleum products attract the following penalties. Level 1: Giving out of petroleum products free to the public. Level 2: Sealing off fuel stations found to be hoarding petroleum products and payment of a fine. Level 3: Withdrawal of marketer’s license and any NNPC, DPR, PPPRA or government agent found conniving/wanting will be sanctioned accordingly in line with public service guidelines and procedures.”
Muhammed stated that NNPC is on top of the petroleum products supply and distribution situation, stating that “we remain committed to eliminating this endemic issue once and for all within the next few days.” His words: “Nationwide petroleum supply and distribution have been ramped up to all states to ensure product availability in the country.
The current supply to states is in excess of the normal consumption especially in the five major consuming cities. “As partners in progress, we encourage the general public to report product hoarders and saboteurs of this administration’s change efforts as they are wittingly fighting every bold change effort currently being put in place. We encourage everyone to shun panic buying and undue return trips as this attitude emboldens marketers to hoard products.
“Supply constraints due to foreign exchange challenges are being resolved through collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria on innovative ways of closing the gaps in accessing foreign exchange. Similarly, as a result of credible leadership provided by the Honourable Minster of State, Petroleum Resources/Group Managing Director, NNPC, the major international upstream oil companies have indicated their willingness to support major oil marketing companies with some of the required foreign exchange.
“In the medium term, NNPC is working on sustainable strategies to permanently address the issues and challenges facing the midstream and downstream sectors. The overarching objective is to make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products as was the case in the 1970’s. “…Changes usually take time, effort and a lot of focus.
We understand the plight of Nigerians and the impact on the overall economy. We genuinely empathise with the attendant sufferings and wish to reassure that we are focused and committed to bring an end to this situation within the next few days and we kindly call on all Nigerians to partner with us on this journey to allowing the whole process of change come into fruition.”
