By Moshood Adebayo
WORRIED by the lingering fuel scarcity and poor power supply in the country, the Federal Government yesterday assured Nigerians that it is working round the clock to provide necessary reliefs for the citizenry.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke in Abuja, yesterday, said government is keenly aware of the difficulties Nigerians are currently facing, particularly, in the area of power supply and the crushing effect of fuel crisis.
“As a government that was propelled into office by the power of the people, we cannot but feel the pains of our compatriots, and we deeply empathise with them.
“Our message to our compatriots is that this administration, under the able leadership of President Buhari, is working round the clock to ease the pains of Nigerians, and that very soon, the efforts of the government will begin to yield fruits for the benefit of Nigerians.
Mohammed, who said government was aware that Nigerians have started questioning the genuiness of its change agenda, added: “We understand the skepticism of Nigerians in questioning whether this, indeed, is the change they voted for. I can tell Nigerians that our change agenda is real, and that, indeed, Nigerians will get the change they voted for.”
He assured that immediate measures are being taken to end the fuel scarcity while medium and long term solutions are also being worked out to prevent a recurrence.
“Petroleum supply and distribution have been ramped up across the country by the NNPC to ensure product availability in the country, but, repeated trips to filling stations and the backlog are making it impossible to immediately feel the impact. Monitoring has also been intensified to ensure full compliance with approved prices.
“Violations of approved prices and hoarding of petroleum products attract severe penalties, including giving out of petroleum products free to the public, sealing.”