FG okays N22.45 billion for projects in Petroleum, Environment ministries

• …why fuel queues  persist in Abuja- Sylva

By Egena Sunday Ode 

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has Wednesday approved N22.449 billion for projects in the Ministries of Petroleum Resources, and Environment.

This was disclosed by Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, and the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Silva after the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammdu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He Environment Minister said council awarded contracts for consultancy services and design of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration with an Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre at the sum of N449,250,040.50, VAT inclusive.

According to him, the establishment of the centre is in fulfilment of  President Buhari’s promise to Ogoni people and which is meant to impact on them in terms of employment generation and laboratory tests for land remediation efforts on the sites contaminated so that it can be made easily cultivated by the people for their fisheries, farming activities and access to water.

On his part, Sylva disclosed that the C council approved the award and procurement for the provision of a  Conference Hostel Facility in Yenagoa, adjacent to the Nigerian Content Towers at the sum of N22 billion to Megastar Technical Construction Company with completion period of 24 months.

Reacting to the persistent fuel queues in Abuja and other parts of the country, the Minister said that the situation, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will persist for a while until the downstream sector of the petroleum products is fully deregulated.

According to him, the fuel queues are not caused by shortages in supply of fuel but for the reluctance of petroleum marketers to sell at the recommended retail price.

His words: “There are queues in Abuja because selling at the recommended N165/litre of fuel is unprofitable to the marketers who have resolved to take the advantage by diverting products from the city centre to where they could sell above the recommended retail price.

“If you look at it, there are no queues when you leave Abuja. In most places, only in the Abuja metropolis you continue to have these queues. So, is it that there is less supply to Abuja than to the rest of the country? 

“It is not so. It is because if you go out of Abuja, they can afford to probably sell at higher prices. And I’m sure a lot of you must be buying at higher prices. But within Abuja, because of the watchful eye of the federal government, they cannot sell at those prices. So it’s not a very attractive market for them. I think these are all things that we might have to be dealing with for a while until we’re able to fully deregulate.”

Giving updates on the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries, Sylva said the Port-harcourt refinery would soon become operational, noting also that the Dangote Refinery would commence operation by January next year.

“So, these issues will gradually be resolved and we will get to the point where Nigeria will be fully supplied from in-country refined products,” he assured.

On why Kaduna and Warri Redineries’ workers were still drawing salaries even when they are not producing anything, the minister explained that most of the workers have been redeployed with few others doing skeletal services to prevent pilfering at the facilities.

“But I can assure you that most of the workers in the refineries have been redeployed to other parts of NNPC.” 

Commenting on the high cost of gas (diesel), the minister said it was so first because the product had been deregulated.

“But of course, you know, the geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Russia is still on and it’s affecting the global prices of this commodity.

So, it is not something from Nigeria. It is something that is affecting the global community; everywhere in the world is having the same problem,” the Minister explained.