Large cargo of petrol arrives Lagos to end shortage

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April 8, 2016 12:13 PM

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu had earlier promised that the scarcity would be over by April 7.

Fuel Scarcity

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The cargo, which was expected to arrive on Thursday, April 7, 2016, is being brought into the country by nine ships, according to The Guardian.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu had earlier promised that the scarcity would be over by April 7.

"By 6th or 7th April, the long queues in filing stations will disappear,” Kachikwu said while appearing before the Senate committee on Petroleum (Downstream) over the fuel scarcity on Tuesday, March 29.

Kachikwu gave the assurance after being criticized for saying that he didn’t have magic to end the shortage.

“One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician but I am working very hard to ensure some of these issues go away‎. And let’s be honest, for the five, six months we have been here, NNPC has moved from a 50 percent importer of products to basically a 100 percent importer. And the 445 barrels that were allocated was to cover between 50 and 55 percent importation," the minister said on Wednesday, March 23.

"So, it is quite frankly sheer magic that we even have the amount of products at the stations. We are looking to see how to get foreign exchange imput. The president and I discussed extensively on how to get more crude directed at importation. His excellency will rather have less crude but have individuals in the society suffer less with inconveniences than have more crude and have them continue to suffer," he added.

The scarcity has caused untold hardship in the country as many citizens are forced to spend hours at petrol stations with no assurance of purchasing the product.

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