ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on Tuesday, tendered an unreserved apology to Nigerians over his comment in respect of the continued fuel scarcity across the nation.
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Kachikwu had told State House correspondents last week that he was a magician that would solve the lingering problem over night.
But speaking before the Senate Committee on Petroleum on Tuesday at the National Assembly in Abuja, Kachikwu, who observed that his comment did not go down well with Nigerians, admitted that it was a side joke, which was not meant to be.
“Let me thank the Senate for taking time out from you recess to come too dialogue this issue, it shows the importance you attach to the petroleum industry and the feelings of Nigerians.
“Let me just digress. I share the pains of Nigerians, I feel that pain everyday when I walk the streets. On Easter day, I was in Lagos, monitoring fuel distribution and the depots. I have given 24 hours attention to the problem.
“I have continued to work with one sole purpose, which is that every problem must have a solution, and I think that is the reason I was picked.
“I do apologise for the comment that I made jocularly with my friends in the press about being a magician, and it offended Nigerians. It was not meant to be; it was a side jocular issue.
“I did go on to explain what needed to be done. I did not know that it would create the kind of hyperbole (exaggeration) that it did.
“Let me, first, admit that I am not a typically experienced politician. I am a technocrat: I come to work.
“Some of the phraseologies that I may use, while being acceptable in the arena in which I play obviously will not be acceptable in the public political arena. So, if any body’s sensibilities were offended by those, I totally apologise,” Kachikwu apologised.
