Kachikwu: Saboteurs causing fuel scarcity

Kachikwu: Saboteurs causing fuel scarcity

Thursday, April 21, 2016 5:52 am


*Nigeria to end fuel import by 2019

Ibe Kachikwu, second left,  with other ministers at the briefing

Ibe Kachikwu, second left, with other ministers at the briefing

Minister of state for petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has blamed saboteurs for the protracted queues for petrol at retail stations  on saboteurs.

He said some marketers have been diverting the fuel to the hinterland for maximum economic gains.

“As at today, we are delivering about 1,200 trucks”, said the minister at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

“By weekend we should be delivering same number of trucks, it will take a bit of days to even out but you can see improvement already.

“I hope by the end of next week, with the refineries helping us to stay on course, every part of the country will get fuel,’’ he added

Kachikwu assured that government would address the systemic issues facing the distribution chain of the product.

“We are hoping that by July we will be able to sign up agreements that will enable upgrades and joint venture of the refineries to take effect.

“We expect that to last for about 12 months, and we expect that by 2017 we should have all the refineries back where they ought to be.

“The target is that by 2018 we will reduce fuel import by 60 per cent and by 2019 with our refineries producing 400,000 barrels, we will exceed our refined importation and begin to export petroleum products,’’ he said.

 

 


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