Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the lingering fuel crisis being experienced in the country, is as a result of both logistics and policy problem. Kachikwu, however stated that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are working round the clock to ensure the disappearance of fuel queues before the end of this week.
The minister, who gave the assurance at a media briefing preparatory to Nigeria’s hosting of the 2018 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), said the fuel queues in filling stations would soon be a thing of the past as critical stakeholders are working round the clock to address the issue. Kachukwu said the NIPS which is expected to run from February 18 to 22 would attract ministers from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Non-OPEC States, experts from West Africa as well as government bodies and biggest players in the industry.
He further said the official Nigeria International Petroleum Summit which is a meeting between key Nigerian political decision-makers, government officials, and specialists from the ministry, NNPC and international companies as well as multinational and multilateral organisations would create the perfect platform for the world to meet Nigeria’s oil and gas industry players. Kachukwu also said:
“A lot is happening in our oil and gas industry today, there are a lot of skill sets. Nigerians are very active and productions of new technologies are taking place. “We are doing something unique, let’s show it to the world so that we can attract investments into Nigeria and other businesses to enable the businesses to grow.”
The minister, therefore, tasked the Nigerian press to rise up to the challenge of getting and giving out firsthand information to even the foreign media and stressed the need for them (Nigerian media) to give best coverage to the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit. While responding to questions from journalists on the lingering queues at the filling stations across the country, Kachukwu assured Nigerians that the queues would disappear before the commencement of the summit.
On the level of investment expected from the summit, the minister said the NIPS will attract a lot of investors as it has a way of galvanising attention to the country’s oil and gas sector. Kachukwu expressed optimism that the summit will attract investors to the critical sectors of the industry such as exploration, production, technology, tracking as well as the refineries and gas. The Summit which is planned to take place in Abuja, the nation’s capital is scheduled to be declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari, who would be represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
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