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PENGASSAN Blames Outdated Distribution for Fuel Queues
At the 2024 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, Mr. Festus Osifo, President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Association of Nigeria, highlighted the reasons behind the persistent fuel queues at filling stations. Osifo pointed to weak and outdated distribution chains in the oil and gas sector as a major cause.
He explained that Nigeria’s reliance on a single importation point and truck-based distribution is inadequate for its large population, leading to recurring fuel shortages. Additionally, he cited bad roads and flooding as factors exacerbating fuel scarcity.
Osifo also addressed the high cost of local production, which is 15-20% higher than global standards, partly due to the security burdens faced by oil and gas companies. He urged the government to assume security responsibilities from investors and strengthen laws against oil theft to reduce production costs and improve industry integrity. Without these changes, he warned, Nigeria will continue to face fuel distribution challenges.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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