TheCable

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, says the solution to incessant fuel scarcity in the country is the ability of the country to refine crude locally.

He said this on Tuesday when he received executive members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja.

The speaker said until Nigeria is able to refine its crude locally, every other measure to put an end to the recurring problem of fuel scarcity will only yield “temporary relief” to Nigerians.

“The solution (to fuel scarcity) is to refine crude locally and end this shame once and for all,” Dogara said.

“Unless we are able to refine crude locally, we will never be in a position as a nation to say bye to fuel scarcity and that is the truth.

“Anyone who thinks we can depend on importation and still solve this problem is deceiving himself.

“You see, when you import, you are depending on so many variables. These variables are not within your control and anything can happen along the line that may result in this.

“The final solution will be to refine this crude, put it in the filling station and say bye to fuel scarcity.”

The speaker also called for capacity building for workers to discharge the responsibility to yield optimal results.

He commended PENGASSAN for engaging with legislators on areas of concern on developments in the petroleum sector, saying such actions will deepen the process of democracy.