The minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, inspected petrol dispensing outlets in Lagos on Friday to ensure that the fuel crisis rocking ends soon
Sylva promised, after the inspection, that fuel scarcity will fizzle out in Nigeria as from next week.
The crisis, which began last November degenerated mid-January when some marketers took advantage of the seeming government laxity and hiked their pump prices arbitrarily.
According to the minister, an inter-ministerial intervention initiated by the Federal Government has set out to ensure proper management of petrol distribution across the country.
He said:” The situation is pleasant because I observed the availability of products in the state. I visited many stations in Ikeja and the Mainland, Falomo, and from every indications, there are products everywhere, and I want to assure you that the queues will disappear in a matter of days”.
He said the situation in Lagos has been achieved in 15 states across the country, adding that the President has ordered that queues must be cleared immediately.
He spoke on the arbitrary price hike of fuel by some marketers, saying he has directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to increase its regulatory activities to ensure marketers abide by the current price regime.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, retail outlets are selling at N184 per litre, and over 900 outlets operated by the Company sell the product at the price
All marketers, he said, are expected to dispense the product at the price.
Speaking on how the situation degenerated Into a crisis point, Sylva said Government did not see it coming, saying that sabotage played a key role in the sector as those who did not mean well for the country took advantage of the upcoming elections to create panic by engaging in market disruptions.
He said the inter-ministerial body inaugurated by the President is working in synergy to put in check all seeming challenges and block all potholes.
