The federal government has appealed to Nigerians for understanding, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime was finding permanent solutions to the fuel problems in the country.

Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, appealed in a statement by his media aide, Horatius Egua, on Tuesday.

He said the government was exploring all options for the fuel problem in the country and urged stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to join hands with the government in ending the problem.

Mr Sylva, while calling for collective support in dealing with the fuel issue, said the government felt the pains of the ordinary Nigerian occasioned by the lingering fuel queues.

He said that the relevant government agencies were working round the clock to ensure fuel availability at petrol stations across the country.

“The problems associated with fuel queues in the country are not a problem that came with Buhari’s government but a fallout of long years of rot and decadence in products supply and distribution chain by successive governments.

“Buhari’s administration is addressing the problem holistically; this is the first time in so many years that a government is addressing the problems associated with fuel supply and distribution collectively,’’ he said.

He also warned of dire consequences for any individual or groups who attempt to exploit or further cause untold hardship to ordinary Nigerians by disrupting fuel supply and distribution chain.

This is coming on the heels of renewed efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) to maintain the 450.92 million litres weekly evacuation of petrol to different petrol stations nationwide.

Mr Sylva, while reassuring Nigerians of the government‘s determination, called on security agencies to be on high alert in preventing attempts by subversive elements to cause any disruption during the period of the general elections in the country.

As part of the move to find a lasting solution to the problem, the minister said the federal government recently set up a 14-man committee to get to the bottom of the problem with a view to avoiding future occurrences.

He said the federal government had also embarked on refineries rehabilitations neglected over the years, with Port Harcourt Refinery at about 65 per cent completion, Kaduna just awarded to Daewo of South Korea, and Warri expected to follow soon.

He said the government, through the NNPCL, acquired a 20 per cent equity stake in the Dangote Refinery and had embarked on the licensing of modular refineries.

(NAN)