Fuel scarcity: Be Patience with Buhari, Kachikwu – Arewa youth urge Nigerians
Fuel scarcity: Be Patience with Buhari, Kachikwu – Arewa youth urge Nigerians
By ALEX UANGBAOJE
The umbrella organization Youths in the North, Arewa Youth Forum, AYF yesterday called on Nigerians to exercise patience and understanding with President Muhammadu Buhari and his Minister of State Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu over the persistent fuel scarcity in the country.
The youths in a statement issued by its National President, Comrade Gambo Gujungu, said the call on Nigerians to exercise patience with Mr. President has become imperative as the issue of fuel scarcity across the country has become a recurrent decimal and need careful planning to alleviate it.
According to the statement, “as the umbrella body of all Youths in the North and also concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and most especially the youths of the country, we are concerned about the current situation been witnessed in the country by all and sundry.
“However we also want to say that looking at events of the immediate past in the country that culminated in the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, shows that Nigerians wanted change and we all know that change anywhere in the world do not come easy and takes time and sacrifice.”
Part of the statement said, “It is view of this that we are calling on Nigerians as a whole, the political elite and youths in particular to exercise patience with President Muhammadu Buhari and his Minister of state for Petroleum Dr. Kachikwu to bring the needed change especially in the petroleum sector.
“We are also aware that the quest for change in the country unfortunately has collided with serious uncertainty in the world economy and the drastic reduction of the price of crude the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. This has negatively affected the expectation of government to deliver on promises and that of Nigerians on expectations from those that promise change.
“Of note is the recent promise by the Minister of state Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu that the current hardship occasioned by the regular non availability of petroleum products will soon be over in May and the attendant reaction that trailed the comment, even though the Minister has reduce the timeline it is worthy of note that fuel scarcity has become a reoccurring decimal in the body polity of Nigeria and it will take time to bring the situation under control permanently.”
AYF said, “While fire brigade approach is necessary to alleviate the suffering of the masses and normalize the impasse, the minister and president Muhammedu Buhari should be given all the needed support for long time solution that will solve the problem once and for all.
“As Youth leaders in the country we believe that building a solid base for today and tomorrow that even children yet unborn willdepend on is better that just tackling the immediate just for the problem to resurface latter.
“We have the hope that the Minister means well and his promise was also corroborated by the Group Executive Director (GED)/ Chief Operating Officer (COO) Upstream sector, NNPC, Alhaji Bello Rabiu Babura who said that refineries in Warri and Port Harcourt were now set for adequate fuel supply in the
country, insisting that era of shortage of the petroleum product supply will be over soon.
“Bello who was in Kaduna at the weekend also said fuel scarcity in the country will be over in the next two weeks, following the completion of repairs on the vandalized pipelines supplying crude oil to Kaduna Refining and Petrol-chemical Company (KRPC) and the readiness of the plant to commence production.
“We believe that there is hope on the horizon and with time Nigerians will reap the price of change , however we want to call on the leadership to do what is necessary to assuage the plight of the masses and return Nigeria to the part of prosperity.”
