Fuel scarcity ’ll last for two more weeks – Yar’Adua

Nigerians will need to endure at least two more weeks of fuel scarcity as President Umaru Yar’Adua said the situation would be resolved within that period.

The President blamed petroleum marketers who were opposed to the planned deregulation of the downstream oil sector for the nationwide fuel scarcity that had persisted for the past three weeks.

He was, however, silent on the possibility of a hike in the pump prices of fuel.

The marketers had stopped importation for about a month now, citing an unclear govenment policy on deregulation and huge debts arising from unpaid fuel subsidy amounting to about N125bn as the reasons for their action.

The President’s comments came just as the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) has threatened to order the arrest the Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, for failing to appear before it to answer questions on the lingering scarcity of petroleum products in the country.

Explaining the situation, Yar’Adua said, ”We have an issue with the marketers, they don‘t want deregulation. That government is even looking at it, they are not happy.

“They normally import about 40 per cent and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation imports the balance of 60 per cent and the stoppage of this importation has produced a supply gap which is being addressed now.

“I am sure the NNPC and the authorities are on top of the situation.”

The President spoke at his maiden interraction with State House correspondents in Abuja.

He added that the government was currently engaged in a dialogue with the marketers towards resolving the matter.

“We are also talking with the marketers; our last meeting with the marketers was last Friday and measures are being taken and I have confidence with all that is put before me that within the next two weeks, the situation will be brought back to normal.”

The Senate Committee on Petroleum had scheduled to meet with the minister and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, and with other stakeholders in the oil industry at 11am on Tuesday, but the two ministers failed to turn up.

Members of the committee had retired to the Chairman‘s office when at 11am, the ministers were not around.

When they returned at 12 noon , other stakeholders were seated, but the ministers were absent.

Angered by the development, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, said the ministers would be given up till Tuesday next week to appear or face legislative action.

The committee chairman warned that their failure to do so would make the committee to invoke section 89 of the 1999 constitution against them.

Section 89 (1d) empowers the Senate or the House of Representatives to “issue a warrant to compel the attendance of any person who, after having been summoned to attend, fails or refuses or neglects to do so and does not excuse such failure or refusal or neglect to the satisfaction of he House or committee in question.

Section 89(2) says, “A summon or warrant issued under this section may be sewed or executed by any member of the Nigeria police Force or by any person authorised in that behalf by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives as the case may require.”

He said the meeting was to address the perennial problem of fuel scarcity and avert the strike threatened by labour.

Paulker said, ”What is happening in this country today is sad because Nigeria is the eighth largest producer of crude oil and you will agree with me that in the past one month, there has been fuel scarcity all over this nation.

“It was based on that that we summoned the honourable Minister of Petroleum to appear before the committee so that we can trash out this issue as to why this scarcity is persisting in spite of policy statement here and there, but unfortunately he did not come.

“The committee has taken a stand that and if by Tuesday, the minister does not appear before the committee, we will invoke all the powers inherent in the Senate to compell him to appear.”

Paulker said the committee would be out on oversight function for the rest of the week and so would not be able to take the ministers earlier than Tuesday next week.

Lukman had in March incurred the wrath of the committee after failing to appear before it to answer questions on the proposed bill for reform of the oil sector.

He was eventually fined N4,000 being the cost incurred while summoning him three times.

But just as the committee was blowing hot earlier on Tuesday, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, directed all commissioners of Police to extract written undertakings from the Nigeria Labour Congress, and other labour union that their warning strike today (Wednesday) would not be hijacked by hoodlums.

The strike, which is expected to commence in Lagos, was called by the NLC during the May Day celebration to compel government to rescind its decision on the deregulation of the downstream oil sector, consider a new minimum wage and adopt the report of the National Electoral Reform Committee.

Okiro said in a statement by his Principal Staff Officer, Mr. Austin Obaedo, that the undertaken was necessary to safeguard lives and property during the strike.

The statement also asked the organisers of the strike to inform the police of the routes they intended to use for the strike so that adequate security could be provided for the protesters and other members of the public who would not participate in it.

But in Lagos where the Commissioner of Police in charge of the state command, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, invited the labour leaders and representatives of civil societies to an interactive session in Ikeja, only one representative of the NLC, Mr. Linus Ukamba, attended.

The state command‘s spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, told one of our correspondents on Tuesday that Akpoyibo reminded Ukamba, who is the Head of Organisation of the Lagos Office of the NLC, of the need for the labour leaders to conduct themselves within the ambit of the law.

He said, ”We are not rolling out tanks or armour on Wednesday (today) because of the rally, but we shall maintain strong and routine presence in every nook and cranny of the state.

“The command is not at war with any group, that is why we invited them to the interactive session in the spirit of our community-policing.”

However, the NLC Secretary, Mr. John Odah, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, argued that the fear that miscreants could hijack the strike should not arise.

He said, “For us in labour movement, the issue of hoodlums hijacking the procession cannot be a valid reason why Nigerians would not express their displeasure over some of the ant-people policies of government.

“As members of society who are also concern about some of the pressing national issues members of the organised labour want to protest against, they are free to join forces with us.”

According to him, the protest which is slated for 7am will begin from Alapere, Ketu, through Ikorodu Road to Alausa, where the participants will formally deliver a letter to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), for onward delivery to President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party , Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, has accused the leadership of the NLC of mixing legitimate demands for improved workers welfare with politics

The party, in a statement signed by its National Public Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, said the timing of the protest was inappropriate and capable of providing a platform for desperate elements to cause chaos and anarchy in the country

The statement reads in part, ”We do not want to believe that the NLC, known for its principled disposition would succumb to dangerous and foul antics of some opposition politicians who are seeking relevance.

The PDP also condemned the statements credited to the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties lending support to the NLC protest.

It said, ”This action is opportunistic and does not in any way help in finding solutions to the problems of welfare of workers. We are not surprised that the gradual disintegration of the CNPP is giving rise to several factions within it which goes a long way in exposing its unseriousness.”

-PUNCH