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The federal government yesterday said that the current fuel price hike will be a thing of the past as the government is working round the clock to return the operations of the sector to normalcy.
The minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva, who spoke yesterday, in a statement by his spokesperson Horatius Egua, said the federal government is working to holistically address the problem of petrol supply and distribution across the country.
This is coming on the heels of renewed efforts by the NNPCL to maintain the 450. 92 million liters weekly evacuation of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) to different petrol stations across the country.
He said the current queues at filling stations did not start with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, but are linked to years of “rot” in previous governments.
The problems associated with fuel queues in the country is not a problem that came with Buhari’s government but a fallout of long years of rot and decadence in products supply and distribution chain by successive governments,”
“Buhari’s administration is addressing the problem holistically. This is the first time in so many years that a government is addressing the problems associated with fuel supply and distribution collectively.”
Sylva assured Nigerians that the federal government is working to find permanent solutions to the petrol crisis, adding that as part of the solution, the government recently set up a 14-member committee in order to avoid future occurrences.
He also said the government has embarked on refinery rehabilitation, with the Port Harcourt refinery at about 65 per cent completion, while Kaduna just got awarded to Daewoo of South Korea.
Sylva also cited the federal government’s “20 per cent equity stake” in the Dangote Refinery, as well as the licensing of modular refineries.
All these, he said, are geared toward increasing crude oil production to meet domestic consumption.