The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, on Wednesday said fuel scarcity may persist for two more months as oil produced in the refineries would not be sold but kept in a “strategic reserve”.
Addressing journalists after leading members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to meet withPresident Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr. Kachikwu said he had no “magic wand” to make fuel available overnight.
“One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician, but I am working very hard to ensure some of these issues go away,” said Mr. Kachikwu.
“And let’s be honest, for the five or six months we have been here, NNPC has moved from a 50 per cent importer of products to basically a 100 per cent importer.
“And the 445,000 barrels that were allocated was to cover between 50 and 55 percent importation.
“So it is quite frankly sheer magic that we even have the amount of product at the stations. We are looking to see how to get foreign exchange input. The president and I discussed extensively on how to get more crude directed at importation.
“His Excellency will rather have less crude but have individuals in the society suffer less with inconveniences than have more crude and have them continue to suffer.
“So we are going to put a new model to enable us increase the pace and actually get (oil) majors as part of the crew of those to bring in more products so that the NNPC will sort of go back to the capacity of what it used to do and the majors will take over the balance of importation.
“So over the next two months, we should see quite frankly a complete elimination of this.
“Our strategy is that whatever is produced in the refineries will not go for sale, we are going to keep them in strategic reserve.
“Because the key problem here is that there is no reserve. Any time there is a gap in supply, it goes off.
“So we are going to dedicate the next couple of months to moving all the products that we produce to strategic reserve so that we can pile up reserves in the nation and that will push up the reserves in the nation.
“Believe me, this is giving me and my team sleepless nights and we are working on it and we are committed to making this go away, Nigerians should please bear with us,” he told journalists after the meeting.
The meeting with the president is coming weeks after oil workers in an industrial action shut down operations of the NNPC for fear of job cuts following an announced restructuring of the corporation
.
Mr. Kachikwu, who doubles as managing director of NNPC, said this was the first time the unions were meeting with the president to review some of the concerns in the oil industry to find solutions.
Some of the concerns, he said, included the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), fuel scarcity issue as well as the refineries for which “we are thankful we didn’t sell”.
According to him, the unions are also worried about the utilization of depots as well as all kinds of logistic issues that plague the oil industry.
“They are worried about job loss in the sector arising from the position of majors who feel that the economy is giving the rough end of the sticks and then try to whittle down staff.
“And so we are going to be working with the oil majors to ensure that we do not experience the kind of job loss that we are hearing has the potential to occur in the sector,” he added.
The national presidents of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, Igwe Achese and Olabode Johnson, told journalists that Mr. Buhari assured the unions that they would continue to be part of the ongoing restructuring in the sector. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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TALKING RUBBISH
ReplyDeleteI just wasted my time reading nonesense.
ReplyDeleteBad government, pmb don't ve wat it takes to govern this countery
ReplyDeleteBad government, pmb don't ve wat it takes to govern this countery
ReplyDeleteAPC Supporters are you reading this....De only Minister DAT is a professional is now talking from de two sides of his mouth ...Oou IF U CANT BEAT THEM! U JOIN THEM....
ReplyDeletethis guys in this goverment are just irresponsible. no one plugs back to reserve at the period of scarcity. how can nigerians be looking fuel and the minister of petroleum is busy reseving the little that was produced. may God help nigerians from.this inept.government
ReplyDeleteMinister says he is not magician. Change!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what this guy means by restructuring. Jonathan was there for 6 years and there was no fuel scarcity except during the subsidy removal problem and the last months of his administrations. Here you are talking of restructuring and having fuel reserve.
ReplyDeleteWhile dying of hunger, the available foods are being kept...What a foolish decision!!! What a clueless Government!!! It is unimaginable that, despite all promises made by APC, the longest ever fuel scarcity is being witnessed during Buhari regime...Well as events are unfolding...
ReplyDeleteRubbish
ReplyDeleteBuhari is a waste
ReplyDeleteI've lost all the respect I have for Buhari,His level of incompetence is overwhelming,..
ReplyDeleteIlliteracy has killed the north that's y this is the kind of person they bring to represent them for president...it's a pity a cow rearer for a democratic president in 21st century...Hell no!!
ReplyDeleteI thought this man was a tecnocrat. Never knew he is one of the APC politicians talking from both sides of the mouth. From two days, we are now hearing of two months. May it not translate to two years.
ReplyDeleteVery soon, we will hear that Jonathan is responsible for the crash in world oil prices and that he and Dezziane have stolen the petrol that was coming to Nigeria.
How can you save what you don't have? Save it for who? Instead of confessing that you are not producing. If we are actually producing, do we have the capacity to store two months production?
That is wat u get wen u vote a foolish party into power. The west caused this by betraying the south. I hope they're not complaining.just enjoy wat u have.
ReplyDeleteLai Kachikwu!!!
ReplyDeleteNo be Jonathan and Dezeani cause am again? Na them cause am ooooo!
ReplyDeleteThoroughly a waste
ReplyDeleteThoroughly a waste
ReplyDeleteJust one anonymous, jobless fellow sits down to type 100 comments.LOL Your passion exposed you. You are alone
ReplyDeleteRubbish and incompetence on the part government. Our own product will be not be sold to use but kept in a strategic places so we can suffer endlessly and kept in perpetual slavery. I see this government has no human sympathy but rather takes delight in our suffering.
ReplyDeleteMay GOD help our nation, Nigeria. Ah APC una try well well. Imagines a minister saying all these rubbish because he doesn't know how his cars are fuelled.
Dizane Allison will not allow this to happen; fuel scarcity never lasted for week in her time,
APC All Promises Cancel
ReplyDeleteAPC chain!
ReplyDeleteDidn't he give his son a job at the CBN? Why should he and his APC cohort bother about the suffering of the masses. Am mad some Nigerians who did not see the handwriting on the wall and are still supporting this clueless government. all sentiments...
ReplyDeleteA team made up of bunch of idiots
ReplyDeleteSavings while suffering?meaning getting Hungary while food is kept till you re hungary?I don't get his message,pls I need interpretation.
ReplyDeleteThis man is not qualified to be a minister.l don't think he is working for Buhari and APC.He should be sacked bcos it is either he is an enemy or incompetent-KOLAWOLE ADEREMI
ReplyDeleteThis man is not qualified to be a minister.l don't think he is working for Buhari and APC.He should be sacked bcos it is either he is an enemy or incompetent-KOLAWOLE ADEREMI
ReplyDeleteThis man is not qualified to be a minister.l don't think he is working for Buhari and APC.He should be sacked bcos it is either he is an enemy or incompetent-KOLAWOLE ADEREMI
ReplyDelete