NNPC Clears Air On Minister’s Statement On Fuel Scarcity

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that the explanation on the fuel scarcity situation provided by the Minister of State for Petroleum was misunderstood.

 

The Minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had told reporters on Wednesday after he led petroleum industry unions – NUPENG and PENGASSAN – to a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari that he could not give a specific time that the scarcity of petrol would end.

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After his comments, there were reports that claimed he had quoted him as saying that he had ‘no magic wand’ that would remedy the situation.
In a statement on Thursday, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammed, recounted the incident.

After the meeting, State House correspondents had asked the Minister a number of questions, among which was ‘When will the fuel scarcity end?’ to which he replied with an explanation of the efforts being made by the government.
“The Minister had replied that the fuel supply situation will improve very soon and that the scarcity we are experiencing now will be over in a matter of one to two weeks.
“But the Minister had gone further to explain that the more serious issue of pipeline vandalism and the fixing of our refineries, which will permanently address the sporadic fuel shortages in the country, will take at least until the month of May to be completed and sorted out.
“Apparently the State House correspondents misunderstood the Minister’s explanation and reported the Minister as saying that fuel shortages will linger for the next two months. That was not what the Minister said or meant,” the statement read.
The NNPC has gone ahead to assure Nigerians that the fuel shortages will be over in a matter of weeks, not months and that the fuel shortage would improve sufficiently to make the long queues disappear, correcting “the erroneous impression created that fuel shortage will linger for two months”.
The statement further read: “Once again the Honourable Minister empathises with Nigerians and urges them to continue to be a little bit more patient; and to understand that correcting a system that has gone through long years of neglect and abuse will require patience and sacrifice.
“The Honourable Minister wishes to re-echo an earlier statement made by Mr President that the government feels the pain of Nigerians and we are all in this together. But there is a bright light at the end of our collective efforts and the solution is definitely not far away.
“The Minister wishes all Nigerians happy Easter holidays and assures them that while they celebrate the Easter, the NNPC will continue to work hard to bring the fuel scarcity to a speedy end”.