Senate begins probe of petrol shortage

The Nigerian Senate is set to begin an investigation into the current fuel scarcity plaguing the country.

The upper legislative house, on Thursday, May 21, 2015, directed its committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream) to probe the crisis and find out what is causing it.

The order was given after Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Abdul Ningi urged the Senate to pay serious attention to the biting fuel crisis which is causing untold hardship to many Nigerians.

“Ningi’s prayers are simple and straightforward. He is asking us, as representatives of the people, to direct our committees on upstream and downstream to find out what is currently going on in the oil sector and possibly find a way of addressing it,” Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said.

“In that regard, we now ask our committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), to find out what is going on and what the government is doing about it and report back on Tuesday next week. That is our wish,” he added.

Meanwhile, the fuel crisis has taken a turn for the worse as two major petroleum unions, Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), have also gone on strike in a bid to air their grievances with the Federal Government.