Ibe Kachikwu

The Federal Government on Thursday assured Nigerians that it has put measures in place to address the current fuel scarcity being witnessed across the country.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu who gave the assurance while addressing newsmen in Abuja said the long queues being recorded at petrol stations across the country would thin out before the end of the week.

He said the Federal Government would flood the market with more of the products to cushion the effects of over-subscription and sharp practices, through the Kaduna Refinery which has started producing about 75,000 litres and the Port Harcourt Refinery which would begin the production of 2.1 million litres per day in the next one week.

While blaming the recent scarcity on the inability of independent marketers to import the product, Kachikwu said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was already taking emergency steps to bridge the gaps, adding that four cargoes of fuel are being expected in the next four days while another 30 vessels would arrive the country in about a week.

He charged regulatory agencies in the industry, particularly the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) to apply stricter monitoring measures in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

He further disclosed that the long term strategy towards the prevention of fuel scarcity in the country would include the revamping and upgrade of the country’s refineries, encouraging investors with the requisite financial capability to build modular refineries as well as the implementation of the petroleum policy approved by the Federal Executive Council.