The Senate has ordered the
Minister of State for
Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu,
to appear before it on
Tuesday to explain the
unending fuel scarcity
across the country.
Minister of State for
Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu,
to appear before it on
Tuesday to explain the
unending fuel scarcity
across the country.
The Senate Committee on
Petroleum Downstream
invited the Minister after
carrying out an on-the-spot
assessment of the fuel
crises in major petrol
stations in the nation’s
capital city.
The Senate committee
visited some fuel stations in
the FCT to find out what is
responsible for the scarcity
of the product.
Some of the stations visited
were not selling petrol and
the operators gave reasons
which the chairman of the
Senate committee said were
unacceptable.
The fuel scarcity has created
a booming business for fuel
black marketers as many
Nigerians would rather buy
fuel from them than spend
long hours in petrol stations.
In broad day light, right in
front of a major petrol
station and a few meters
away from the Police
Headquarters in Abuja, black
marketers are seen hawking
petrol.
The illegality of their
business is not stopping
them because for weeks,
there have been persistent
long queues in petrol
stations in the FCT and
across the country.
Although Dr Ibe Kachikwu
has given the assurance that
the federal government
would soon eliminate the
scarcity of petrol and the
resultant crisis in the sector,
the Senate committee
believe there is the need to
have a clearer understanding
of the situation and how it
is being addressed.
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