Across the globe, many countries are responding to the increase in the price of crude. Only last week, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude, announced plans to raise petrol and jet fuel prices in January in an effort to reduce energy subsidies and bolster state finances.
Kachikwu accused some marketers of illegally maximising profit by diverting fuel meant to be supplied in Nigeria.
The minister disclosed further that as a result of the N26 difference per litre between the current landing cost of the product (N171) and pump price of N145, NNPC which had been singularly importing the product at the volume of 25 million litres per day since October last year, has been incurring a daily loss of about N800-N900 million, cumulatively reaching N85.5billion today, in just three months.
He said, “I have said that selling crude is a fairly wrong model which is akin to selling our agricultural products in the wrong way and nobody does that anywhere in the world anymore. Unless we have operational refineries, there will be no permanent solution to the fuel crisis in the country.”
Kachikwu noted that petrol scarcity was a major concern and Nigerians should not be made to suffer, assuring that the committee would come out with lasting solution to the persistent petrol crisis in the country.
Buhari also reiterated the determination of his administration to get to the root of the persistent petrol scarcity, and ensure that whichever groups were behind this manipulated blackmail would be prevented from doing so again.
“There is a deep-seated conflict of interest in the downstream sector; regulators are operators, regulators are importers, importers are products hoarders, regulators are also saboteurs, definitely we have a sector capture in our hands, Nigeria and Nigerians need liberation,” he remarked.
“There is no contract fraud anywhere. Part of the contract alleged to have been awarded were presented to the Federal Executive Council two weeks ago.”
“This is not a time for diversionary issues as the petroleum sector is dealing with a serious national issue. We are focused on collaboratively finding an urgent solution to this crises.”
The Committee chaired by Senator Kabiru Marafa, has been meeting with relevant stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the fuel scarcity.
