Fuel crisis pains go on as Senate invites Kachikwu

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu is to visit the Senate over the biting fuel scarcity  that is threatening businesses and making life difficult for Nigerians. Dr. Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  is to appear before the Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) today to state the steps being taken to stop the scarcity.

Committee Chairman Jibrin Barau told reporters after an on-the-spot assessment of filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the invitation became necessary following the hardship Nigerians go through as a result of the scarcity.

He said despite assurances by the ministry that the situation would be controlled, it had lingered. “We have invited the Minister of State (for Petroleum Resources) to appear before the committee tomorrow (today) to tell us about the fuel scarcity and the strategy he is employing to solve it.

“`We will expect him to give a date when the problem will be resolved permanently. We are not satisfied because this problem has gone unabated for too long. The situation is appalling and it is a major problem. We gave the ministry enough time and space to put its act together to solve this problem.”

Petrol prices have gone up to N170 per litre and above in some areas, especially during the Easter celebration as against the government’s approved N86.50 per litre.

The crisis is believed to have got worse after Kachikwu’s statement that the scarcity will not end till May. The statement triggered panic-buying and hoarding. Many oil marketers started  hoarding and diverting to sell at a premium. Apart from very few filling stations owned by the major oil marketers that sell at the regulated price in Lagos, others sell at between N110 and N150 per litre. In most parts of Enugu State, petrol sold at N170 and above.

As a result of rationing of supply at the depots, oil marketers resorted to lobbying the NNPC to get allocation.

Fuel hawkers are all over Lagos, selling 10-litre kegs at between N2,500 and N3,500, depending on the area.

The Nation