THE Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) has summoned the
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the
Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, in its quest to get to the root
of the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
According to a statement issued by
the chairman of the committee,
Senator Magnus Abe, the worrisome development in the oil sector was
unacceptable and the Upper Chamber would not fold its hands to watch
Nigerians in pains.
“We thought that the era of Nigerians queuing at filling stations for
indeterminate hours to procure Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other
petroleum products, was indeed gone forever.
“It is, indeed, an embarrassment that precious man-hours are wasted
in the quest to fulfill a basic need.
“What was initially perceived as a glitch in the distribution chain
has now ballooned into queues in what now seems to be a gradual return
to that inglorious era.
“The Senate Petroleum Resources Committee intends to engage those in
charge with a view to ascertaining and charting workable solutions to
the challenges in the downstream sector.
“To this end, we will meet with the Petroleum Resources Minister, the
NNPC GMD, PPPRA and other relevant stakeholders next week,” the
statement read in part.
It would be recalled that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja
and some states in the country have been experiencing perennial fuel
scarcity since last month, following attempts by some stakeholders to
protest the debts owed some importers of fuel by the federal government.
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