BY Mayowa Tijani
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says privately-run refineries perform better than state-owned refineries, adding that it is a problem to have only public refineries.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Lagos on Saturday, the professor of law said the pains Nigerians are currently facing are just birth pains.
“President Muhammadu Buhari and I are completely committed to providing competent leadership. We have no other agenda,” Osinbajo said.
“We acknowledge there are pains but they are just birth pains. This is not the end. We are currently compiling the Social Register for the poor and as soon as the budget is passed, we will begin to pay 5000 Naira to the poor.
“Stealing and Corruption cuts across all ethnic groups in Nigeria. We must decide to become a new tribe of Nigerians. We must disallow division. We must also disallow the use of religion and ethnicity.”
Speaking on the fuel crisis bedevilling the nation, Osinbajo said: “The NNPC is currently the only one importing refined fuel. We are in the process of providing a final solution to the fuel scarcity.”
“The presence of only public refineries is a problem. Private refineries run better. We are seeking private investments in co-managing the refineries.
“Some parties have indicated interest in the private refineries including the Oil majors.”
On the entertainment sector, Osinbajo said “we are working on solutions to piracy including technology options, active advocacy and better collaboration between the Entertainment industry and the government”.
He restated that the Lagos-Calabar project has been included in the budget, regarding rail lines as “the most effective way of moving goods”.
ON POWER
“Nigeria recorded a peak of 5000 MW in February. We paid outstanding debts and curtailed vandalism. But the Forcados pipeline caused a drop of about 500MW while issues with the transmission lines caused a further drop.
“We are currently working on improving the supply of gas to power plant and fixing transmission line problems.
“We have removed fixed tariff charges. You only pay for what you use. We are also engaged with labour unions on cost reflective tariffs.”
YUAN DEAL
“The deal is we have some credit with the Chinese, so doing business with the Chinese can be done without the dollar.
“The Yuan deal will help facilitate trade with China and also help the ease of doing business.
Asides giving single digit SME loans, Osinbajo said Buhari’s leadership is also aimed at building “a country where anyone who holds public office must be able to explain their wealth”.
He said the APC-led government will continue with the town hall meetings across the country to engage Nigerians on the state of the nation.
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