President Muhammadu Buhari says he appreciates the restraint, understanding and patience that Nigerians and organised labour have shown towards his administration as the country tackles myriad economic challenges.
He however assured that the Federal Government was working hard to ameliorate the situation.
Buhari’s appreciation was conveyed in a Tuesday statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
According to the statement, the president spoke at a virtual event held at the State House to unveil National Gas Expansion Programme and National Auto-gas Roll-out Initiative.
“Let me now express my deep appreciation to Nigerians for their patience, and Organized Labour for its maturity and patriotism as we collectively navigate these global economic and other challenges,’’ the president said.
He urged Nigerians to embrace the use of gas as an alternative to fuel.
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The president stated, “It is no longer news that the vast Natural Gas resources, which Nigeria is endowed with has hitherto been used sub-optimally as a result of a dearth of gas processing facilities and infrastructural connectivity for effective and optimal domestic utilisation.
“As I mentioned above, with a proven reserve of about 203 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) and additional upside of 600 TCF ranking Nigeria as the 9th in the world currently, the need for domestic gas expansion and utilisation is apparent.’’
President Buhari said the deregulation of the downstream sector had exposed many to price volatilities in the global market, urging attention to more affordable alternative for energy, especially with Nigeria’s heavy reserve.
“Therefore, the roll-out of the National Gas Expansion Programme, Auto-gas initiative is coming at the right time, especially in light of global crude oil market fluctuations coupled with the full deregulation of the local PMS market.
“These developments have made it imperative to focus on gas as an alternative fuel to move Nigeria from the conventional dependence on white products for autos and prime-movers of industrial applications to cleaner, more available, accessible and affordable energy source.
“The outcome will not only cushion the effect of the downstream deregulation that this government has to painfully implement, but also create new markets and enormous job opportunities for our people,’’ he stressed.
The President said the auto-gas initiative would lead to increased domestic gas utilisation and enrich the trajectory of national economic growth and development.
“I therefore encourage everyone to embrace gas in form of LPG, CNG and LNG as an alternative fuel for autos and other prime-movers.
“The Minister of State Petroleum Resources is hereby directed to commence the process of hand over of mass transit buses to Organized Labour as part of our government’s pledge to continue providing support that will ease the transportation challenges Nigerians are facing at this time,’’ he said.
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