Senate poke fuel scarcity

THE Senate, on Thursday, resolved to investigate the biting fuel scarcity which has grounded activities nationwide.
The lawmakers, at the Thursday's sitting, mandated the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), to immediately commence a probe into the remote and immediate causes of the scarcity.
Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, had moved a motion to call the attention of his colleagues to the crisis.

He insisted that
the Upper chamber needed to pay serious attention to the biting fuel crisis which, he said, was causing hardship for Nigerians.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu,  who presided over the sitting, however, noted that the matter would not be listed for debate  because Ningi raised the motion under personal explanation.
"Ningi's prayers are simple and straightforward. He is asking us, as representatives of the people, to direct our committees on upstream and downstream, to find out what is currently going on in the oil sector and possibly find a way of addressing it.
"In that regard, we now ask our committees on Petroleum Resources to find out what is going on and what the government is doing about it and report back on Tuesday next week. That is our wish," Ekweremadu said.
Ningi, in his motion, had said it was the responsibility of the lawmakers to intervene in resolving the hardship Nigerians are going thorough.
"We need to know whether fuel scarcity has come to stay or not. We need to know whether it has become part of our life. We need to plan.

"By planning and talking about it, we will sensitise Nigerians to brace up for the fuel scarcity, whether it is going to be here permanently or temporarily.
"But we can't know all these things until we hear from the experts. Therefore, my prayer is to ask the committee on downstream and upstream to come up with explanations next Tuesday, through which Nigerians will know and plan for their future.