Ibe Kachikiwu Explains Why Petroleum Prices Will Reduce Soon..

Minister of petroleum says new development will bring amazement to Nigerians

– Reveals that the fuel subsidy removal was inevitable following Nigerians’ struggles

Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s minister of Petroleum Resources, has urged Nigerians to be patient as the increased fuel prices will soon reduce.

The minister, who made the statement during an interview with Channels television on Thursday, May 12, assured that Nigerians would be amazed at how the prices of petrol will dropin six months.

This statement was necessary following the new pump price of petrol (between N135 and N145 per litre) from N86 and N86.50.

Kachikwu told Nigerians that the market dynamics will set in pretty soon “because there are a lot of Nigerians who are very active, very bullish, very talented in doing this; they just have been prevented by government intrusions.

“As it gets better and it gets to a point where we find that the market has stabilised in terms of supply, we will begin to pull back a bit in terms of determinants for pricing.”

He explained further that “you will be amazed at what will happen to your N145 price because it will go downwards.

“You don’t give what you don’t have. We want Nigerians to understand that we feel the pain, and we have tried to avoid it since I came in October. We have done everything we can.

“We first went on to the issue of the subsidies that we inherited which, by the way, were based on 50 to 55 million litres consumption, and we said the number looked bloated. So, we did an experiment and came to a conclusion that this country doesn’t consume more than 45 million litres a day.

“Then we came to a second point and said, ‘We are not even going to have subsidy again. We are going yo exit it because there was just too much fraud involved in it.'”

Speaking further, Kachikwu stated that the ministry was left with no option since Nigerians had struggled a lot.

“Queues continue to go and they are back. And it will continue to happen unless we address the issues.

“If you free up Nigerians to find sources of funds, they will find those secondary funds. They will import the product; the burden on the NNPC will reduce and the country will have peace and subsidy will go away permanently.

“I am appealing to Nigerians to please for the first time realise that we are doing our very best. I have together with everybody who is in this government worked night and day looking for solutions.

“We mean well and Nigerians should please trust us. Give us a chance, you will be surprised what will become of your PMS price over the next six to eight months,” the minister explained.

Meanwhile, Governor Ayodele Fayose Ekiti state, southwestern Nigeria on Thursday called President Muhammadu Buhari a hypocrite.

He also described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as an advanced fee fraud practitioner for deceiving the country’s citizens till it removed subsidy from premium motor spirit, also known as petrol.

Fayose, like many other Nigerians has remained angry since the Wednesday announcement by Kachikwu, the country’s minister of state for petroleum.

The governor, seen as a major critic of the president, released a second statement stating that Buhari and his APC had defrauded Nigerians by increasing the price of petrol from N86.50 to N145 per litre.

Naij.com