Tribune / Nigeria: Despite conscious efforts made by the Federal Government to significantly ameliorate the current fuel crises in the country, deliberate diversion of crude oil products to neighbouring countries such as Chad and Cameroon has led to the lingering of the problem.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, made this known Monday in Lagos at a Lagos Town Hall Meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of Information, where he also disclosed that in the past one week, about 500 petrol trucks had been sent to Lagos but that only about half of those were able to offload their contents successfully.
The Town Hall meeting which was held at the Lagos City Hall, also brought five other ministers into the spotlight, and those were, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and the Minister of Communication and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who also served as the host of the event.
Kachikwu, who recently drew the ire of many Nigerians over what was deemed his “insensitivity” to the plights of Nigerians due to some of his utterances, further noted that this act of sabotage had led to a situation whereby only “a few Nigerians are benefiting at the detriment of the majority of the populace.”
However, he said the government had already devised a means of halting this ugly trend, by introducing tracking devises on all fuel-tracking trucks in the country, which he said would help his ministry to monitor all trucks carrying fuel across the country.
He also noted that by registering all depots carrying out the supply and petrol stations where the supply is heading, the government hopes to also quickly rein in the growing trend.
“None of our petrol tankers have trackers, therefore any truck without a tracker will not be allowed to load fuel. We are also working with the Police, Army, Civil Defence, and others to prevent diversion of petrol to other countries,” he said.
When answering questions relating to his ministry, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the government was currently working on housing designs which would make housing to be built relevant to the housing needs of each region in the country.
According to Fashola, the Federal Government will require about N2trillion to complete not new fewer than 226 ongoing road projects across the country.
He said the total amount allocated to all the sectors under his ministry in the 2016 budget was less than N500 billion,stressing that the government did not have enough resources to complete all the projects at present.
Fashola added that the focus of the government for now would be to complete some of the projects and not to undertake new ones.
“The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing proposed N423billion at the Federal Executive Council and the information reaching us is that we are not going to get all that .
“Ongoing road projects alone awarded by the government before we came– about 266 roads awarded in the various states– the liability to complete them is about N2 trillion,” he said.
In the power sector, the minister said though there were many challenges facing the sector, the government would do everything possible to fulfill its promise to revamp it.
He said the 5,000 megawatts the country was generating was inadequate and explained that the government was completing some ongoing power projects and and taking other steps to boost generation.
Also, the Minister of Culture and Information, Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government has generated over N2 trillion through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) since the commencement of the policy.
“This administration has decided to plug all financial loopholes through the Treasury Single Account (TSA), into which over N2 trillion has accrued so far. Funds that ordinarily would have gone into private pockets are now finding their way into the public treasury, to be used for the benefit of all.
According to him, the budget has recorded a first with the capital expenditure being increased to 30 per cent, adding that “beyond that there are six social intervention areas that will directly touch the lives of millions of citizens and lift them out of poverty.
Mohammed noted that 500,000 graduates would be employed and trained as teachers.
Also speaking, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Goeffrey Onyeama said the overseas trips embarked upon by President Mohammed Buhari were carefully selected in line with certain priorities and development objectives of the country.
He said the president was not embarking on the trips just for the fun of it, stressing that some of them were already yielding results for the progress of the country.
The minister also said some of the president’s trips to certain western countries were at the invitation of these nations because they were moved by Buhari`s impressive credentials and goodwill.
The minister listed the United States, the United Kingdom and France as some of the countries whose leaders invited Buhari, based on his goodwill.
Onyeama also said the President’s recent trip to China was to attract the much-needed investments in agriculture, solid minerals, as well as other important sectors of the economy.
In his remarks, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Idiat Adebule, called for Nigerians to exercise more patience with the Buhari-led administration, saying it was just a matter of time, and people’s sufferings would be over.
“This is not the time to despair, rather it is time for us all to remain focused. The gains of all ongoing efforts will soon begin to materialise,” the governor said.
