FG says there’s nothing Embarrassing in importing fuel from Niger Republic Ewa Oladipo

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said Nigerians should be proud that the Federal Government was set to resume the importation of petroleum products from neighbouring Niger Republic.

DESERT HERALD reports that this is the first time in Nigerians history and under the current GMD of NNPC, Mele Kyari Kolo who promised to resuscitate all the nation’s Refineries that Nigeria is importing fuel from a smaller state like Niger Republic. It shows clearly the declining fortunes of the country under the current administration.

Sylva spoke on Monday on a television programme when he responded to Nigerians who described the decision to purchase refined products from Niger Republic’s Soraz Refinery in Zinder, about 260km from the Nigerian border, which has an installed refining capacity of 20,000 barrels per day, as an embarrassment.

According to available information, Niger Republic utilises less than 5,000 barrels of what it refines per day.

Nigeria last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Niger Republic on it.

Reacting to the development, Sylva said: “I don’t see that as an embarrassment at all.

“As a country, Nigeria is a big market.

“We need products.

“Even if all our refineries were functioning, we will still need extra products.

“Niger Republic produces oil and they are landlocked as a country.

“They have a refinery that produces in excess of what they require as a country and they offered to sell to us in Nigeria because this is a bigger market.

“In the spirit of regional cooperation, regional trade development, we decided to buy from them.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that.

“If your neighbour is producing something that is required in your country and you buy from him, why is that a big problem?

“So, we agreed with Niger to buy the excess of what they don’t require in Niger because this is a big market.

“Nigerians should be proud that we are doing that to encourage sub-regional trade because we have been talking about sub-regional trade for a long time and this is how it should be between neighbouring countries.

“Niger should import from us what they have and we should be able to import from Niger what they have.