Damilola Oyedele
25 July 2008
Abuja — The Federal Government has said that it would consider the request of the Republic of Benin for increased crude oil supply to meet its increasing fuel needs.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua gave this assurance at a meeting with the Beninoise President, Mr. Boni Yayi in Abuja yesterday where Yayi requested for an increase from the current 15,000 to 50,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Barrister Odein Ajumogobia who briefed newsmen at the end of the meeting said he would be with the Beninoise oil minister to work out details of the quantity of petroleum products to be supplied.
"The issue (meeting) concerns petroleum products. You know even in Nigeria here we are suffering from the high price of the product and in other countries, especially the non-oil producing countries; they have difficulties in meeting their obligations. There was a request to renew an agreement that expired in 2007," he said. We had a bilateral agreement with the republic of Benin for the supply of products and crude oil. The quantity was 15,000 bpd; they are asking for 50,000bpd", he added.
Nigeria had also extended a similar agreement with Ghana and Ajumogobia declared that such favours would be granted to other neighbouring countries based on several factors, particularly on their needs and Nigeria's constraints.According to him, "We can't obviously meet all requests and that's why Mr. President said we should sit down with our counterpart ministers and review their requests and see what we can do given our own constraints.
"We have to look at what we are doing currently, how much we are producing. As you know the issue of what we produce is fluctuating. So we have to look at what we have and what is available and what we can do".
In another development, the President has given his full support to the fight towards the eradication of the polio virus in Nigeria to protect the Nigerian child.
While receiving an Award of Honour from the Rotary Foundation in the Presidential Villa, Abuja , yesterday, he gave the assurance that he would give his best to ensure that the virus is eliminated from the country.
In his remark, the Chairman of the Rotary Foundation, Mr. Jonathan Majiyagbe, said the Rotary International Award of Honour was instituted to recognize the outstanding achievements of world leaders in a special way.
Yar'Adua's award according to Majiyagbe, was "in recognition of his contribution to the furtherance of international understanding and goodwill, especially in supporting the polio eradication efforts in Nigeria ".
He expressed concern that the number of new polio cases jumped 10-fold in four months from March, with Kano State recording nearly 150 cases.
The chairman also recalled that it was Yar'Adua, as governor of Katsina State in 2002, who commissioned a study into the safety of oral polio vaccine when the agitation over its safety was raging in parts of the country.
"This singular act went a long way in dousing the flame of resentment, not only in Katsina State, but in the other polio-endemic states in northern Nigeria".
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