The Federal Government has sympathised with Nigerians over unforeseen hardship occasioned by inevitable scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol and called for patience in finding lasting solutions.
Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources made the appeal on Sunday, in a statement by his Senior Adviser (Media & Communications), Horatius Egua.
“In the last weeks, Nigerians have grappled with fuel scarcity, not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure, which allowed adulterated products into the country.
“This is regrettable, and the Federal Government sympathises with the citizenry over the unforeseen hardship, occasioned by the inevitable scarcity.
“Let me once again appeal to Nigerians to be patient with government in finding lasting solutions to the crisis,” Sylva said.
He appreciated the NNPC for showing so much concern to the plight of Nigerians by coming forward with an apology.
“This is unprecedented and showed that we on the government side are not afraid to take responsibility,” he added.
The Minister also said the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had been out on the streets, fuel station by fuel station to ensure that the situation normalised quickly.
According to him, we are beginning to see the fruits of their efforts.
He called for collective action to save a situation that was not foreseen, adding that it was not a time to trade blames nor a time to query anyone but a time to come together to salvage the plight of the average Nigerian.
“After the storm settles there will be time enough to investigate and get to the bottom, so that this does not repeat itself.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s charge to all parties and agencies concerned is to work together to ensure that normalcy returns quickly.
The Nigerian people deserve the best and the government is determined to set the country on the right path of petroleum products availability and sustainability.
This, he said, was demonstrated in the award of the contracts for the rehabilitation of all our refineries and the acquisition of stake in the Dangote Refinery.
