TheCable

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, says the fuel queues in Lagos and Abuja will vanish by Thursday, saying the situation in Sokoto, Warri and Port Harcourt will improve during the weekend. 

Speaking on Tuesday during a visit to the office of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, Kachikwu said there were efforts to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.

He charged members of the agency to continue to put in their best, referring to PPPRA as a major stakeholder in the regulation of the oil sector.

“We have to take the right policies to see that things are done well,” he said.

“I hope that tomorrow slash Thursday queues in Abuja must have cleared; hopefully the same thing will happen in Lagos. By weekend, we will see same in Sokoto, Port-Harcourt, Warri and others.”

Sotonye Iyoyo, acting executive secretary PPPRA, commended the minister and solicited his support for the smooth running of the agency.

Iyoyo said that the agency was faced with policy, operational and administrative challenges.

She identified low capacity utilisation of nation’s refineries, inadequacy of import reception and discharge facilities as some of the operational challenges.

On administrative challenge, she said that the agency was currently understaffed as field operations were being supported by temporary staff.

She called for early resolution of these issues to help motivate staff to ensure result and increase in productivity.