The Federal Executive
Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday,
approved a three-year target to achieve self-sufficiency in refined petroleum
products and reduce demand on foreign exchange.
It also approved 34 “priority
projects” that would be executed and completed in 2016. Briefing State House
correspondents after the meeting, Minister of State for Budget and National
Planning, Zainab Ahmed, in company with the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed,
Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, and Minister
of State, Foreign Affairs, Kadijah Bukar Abba Ibrahim, also disclosed that the
presidency was expecting a final copy of the 2016 budget from the National
Assembly for presidential assent “today or tomorrow”.
“We are setting a three-year
deadline to achieve self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and to
become a net exporter of petroleum products. The objective of this is to
increase domes- tic supply of refined products and to reduce demand on foreign
exchange for importing refined products in our country. The ministry of
petroleum is pushing this. There is also a plan to push for the passage of the
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in conjunction with the national assembly,” she
said.