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The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday said the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country is man-made and that those responsible must pay the price for unleashing such hardship on Nigerians.
He said this while welcoming his colleagues back to the plenary from their three weeks break.
Saraki said, “I am not unmindful of the sobering fact that the new year has met many citizens in a reflective mood. Many were on the queue for petrol; many households are grief-stricken.
“This mood of reflection is also one from which no lawmaker is immune; what affects one, affects all. When one part of the body is hurting, the whole body hurts, and this holds true for the entire nation.
“We have all been witnesses to the hardships with which many Nigerians saw in the new year, stuck on fuel queues tailing from petrol stations in many of our cities.
“My own estimation of the fuel scarcity phenomenon is that it is man-made. We thought we had left the problem of fuel queues firmly in the past in this country, but sadly, that appears not to be the case.”
Mr. Saraki said that members of the Senate Investigative Panel on Fuel Scarcity had to stop their recess to commence hearing on the lingering crisis.
“We seek the cooperation and understanding of Nigerians as we try to get to the bottom of this issue. In any event, there is a problem, and it must be solved. We await the findings of the Investigative Panel on Fuel Scarcity, firm in our resolve that whoever is responsible must pay the price for visiting this needless hardship upon our people”, he said.
Reacting to the killings in some parts of the country, Saraki assured that the Senate would do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book and restore peace in the country.
“We condemn these killings in the strongest terms, and we declare that mindless bloodletting has no place in our society. I offer our sincerest condolences to the people of Benue, and indeed to all who have suffered the loss of their loved ones as a result of these wanton acts.
“When we fail in our duty to protect Nigerian lives, it is a tragedy and an indictment on us all. We as the 8th Senate stand ready to help find solutions to assuage the hurt to affected parts, to bring the perpetrators to justice and to enthrone peace in all four corners of this country,” he said.