Minister Urges Marketers To Suspend Strike …As Fuel Scarcity Persists In Abuja

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani
Alison-Madueke, in Abuja last Thursday appealed to oil marketers to shelve
their strike and allow Nigerians celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr.

The minister, who noted the queues at the filling stations
in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, pleaded with the tanker drivers to
resume transportation of the product to Abuja, saying that the Federal
Government is taking necessary steps to address their grievances.

She assured the tanker drivers that the Ministry of Finance
would ensure that the situation was addressed and marketers paid their genuine
claims.

“ It’s with a great deal of concern that the Ministry of
Petroleum Resources has noticed the increasing queues at our filling stations,
particularly in Abuja.

“It is also very clear that the Ministry of Finance is
working very hard at this time to address the situation at hand and I will like
to appeal particularly to the marketers to please cooperate with the Federal
Government, particularly as we go into Eid-el-Fitr,’’ she said.

She, however, stressed that the hitch had nothing to do with
the non-availability of the product as the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) had
40 days strategic reserve.

“ I want to assure Nigerians that the NNPC and the PPMC have
no scarcity of products and that in fact we have 40 to 45 days stock in our
reserves at this time,” she noted.

The Tide reports that fuel scarcity had worsened in spite of
the minister’s assurances as the queues at most filling stations have become
longer.

The only few stations were dispensing petroleum products
while others claimed they had run out of stock while most of the adjoining
roads to the filling stations in Wuse, Central Area and Garki were blocked as a
result of the queues while the operators of the black market had a field day.

Transport fares have also risen.