The Federal Government has stated that the country has successfully saved over N1.4 trillion since subsidy was removed from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol.
Speaking at the National Association of Energy Correspondent 2016 annual conference in Lagos on Thursday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated that the removal of subsidy, though difficult was a necessary decision the government had to take.
Removal of fuel subsidy in May 2016 resulted in price increase of the product from N97 per litre to N145 per litre.
Kachikwu explained that the removal of subsidy had resulted in increase supply and availability of the product across the country.
“For the first time in 30 years, we have been able to deal with the pricing issue of petrol. We work with all stakeholders and we have been able to save N1.4 trillion.
“More importantly is for us to achieve self sufficiency and ensure that queues disappear from our filling stations,” Kachikwu said.
Commenting on pipeline vandalism, the minister said Nigeria had experienced 1600 cases of pipeline vandalism between January 2016 till date.
He explained that the pipeline vandalism cases the country had witnessed in 2016 alone, are worse than those experienced between 2010-2015 which he estimated to be 3000 cases.
“You will be shocked that in 2016 alone, Nigeria has recorded 1600 cases of pipeline vandalism, while between 2010 – 2015, there were 3000 cases. That means 2016 has been the worst,” he said.
Kachikwu therefore appealed to militants in Niger Delta to halt all forms of pipeline vandalism, noting that their activities do not only pose economic challenges to the country, but also pollute the environment and threaten aquatic life.
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