Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has recently pledged to provide support to East Central African country Burundi with fuel, amid fuel scarcity in Nigeria.
Buhari’s support comes after he received Burundi’s Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning Minister, Hon. Audace Niyonzima, and a Special Envoy of Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye at the federal capital territory (FCT).
According to a statement signed by President Buhari’s special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, Pres. Buhari pledged in the spirit of solidarity and African brotherhood that Nigeria will support the Republic of Burundi in diverse ways as necessary.
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President Buhari further disclosed that he knows what it feels like for a country to suffer from energy shortage, which is the reason why he would not hesitate to assist Burundi by supplying them with fuel.
The statement reads, “On request for assistance in the area of energy provision, particularly fuel, by the Burundi leader, President Buhari said he knows what it feels like for a country to suffer from energy shortage, and promised that he would get the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to look into the request”.
Responding to President Buhari’s pledge, Burundi’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning, said that the Burundian president sent his goodwill message for the New Year to Nigerians and the presidency. He also wished the country well in her upcoming 2023 general elections scheduled to hold in February and March this year.
“We pray that the polls would be peaceful and successful so that Nigeria would maintain her reputation as a bastion of peace and stability,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, President Buhari’s support to provide fuel to Burundi is coming amid fuel scarcity in Nigeria as well as a surge in fuel prices.
In recent times, fuel scarcity in the country has worsened which has seen long queues dotted across filling stations in different parts of the country.
Last year, during the festive period, the majority of Nigerians were forced to celebrate Christmas on a very low key due to the scarcity of fuel in the country.
Also, it made traveling difficult for many as they were visibly left stranded at different bus stations across the country, due to the astronomical rise in fares occasioned by the acute fuel scarcity.
Report gathered revealed that most transportation companies imposed a 100% increase in fares, blaming the surge on the scarcity of fuel.
The Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (lPMAN) last November attributed the current fuel scarcity to the unavailability of petroleum products and difficulty in accessing foreign exchange by marketers.
The operations controller of lPMAN, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, alleged that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd., had stopped importing enough petrol to meet demand in the country.
He further urged the government to remove the monopoly of importation and pronounce total deregulation of the downstream sector.
Few analysts have disclosed that President Buhari’s promise to support Burundi is a case of misplaced priority, noting that the country is not done with solving its fuel crisis, yet it wants to play a big brother role.
On the other hand, the reoccurring fuel scarcity in Nigeria has become a menace, as different sectors in the country have been badly affected.
Commercial transport operators have decried the unending hardship brought by fuel scarcity as well as passengers who are faced with increased fuel price.
Also, the Coordinator, Nigerian Bakers Association, North Central, Mrs Clara Ameh Oduwole, echoed similar consternation. She disclosed that bakers are barely managing to survive the current hardship so that their business will not collapse because availability of power is essential to the sustenance of the business.
She said:”In our confectionary business, fuel availability is paramount because we need to generate electric power. We need diesel for production of cake and ice cream.
“Unfortunately we are not breaking even. In fact, I have to buy a new generator that uses petrol. Although petrol is cheaper than diesel, it is not available at the filling stations except at the Black market.”
Majority of Nigerians have lamented that the suffering of the people is too much and, unfortunately, Nigeria is awash with petroleum but meanwhile, the citizens are suffering from its scarcity.