Nigeria is probably the most blessed country in Africa. Nigeria is a country bountifully enriched with several mineral resources.

Over the years several other countries (even the 3rd world countries) have depend largely on our mineral resources. Let’s not get it twisted Nigeria’s selling point has always been the crude oil.

Since the independence our economy has depend on oil revenues, even our budget cannot be implemented if there is a slide in our oil output. This has made us Africa’s largest oil producer.

However, despite the availability of Crude oil in several states, Nigeria still imports Petroleum products from foreign countries like China and USA.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara few days back gave these 3 reasons as to why we still import fuel other countries

1. Poor Maintenance of Refineries

Dogara sited that Nigeria’s inability to maximize its potentials in the oil and gas sector as well as the revenue generated from the sector as a factor. HE believes our refineries have been mismanaged by past administrations and that has crippled our ability to refine crude oil. This has caused our Oil output to reduce.

2. Influence of Host Communities

Dogara said ‘Decades after the advent of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, problems which led to host community agitation remain unaddressed and highly politicized, and the question of the extent to which revenues from the industry should be shared among the three tiers of government and the people remain, as do the content and limits of corporate social responsibility.’

This is mostly the reason behind the recent attack in the Niger delta region.

3. Outdated Laws

Dogara believes our Petroleum laws are out-dated and need to be reviewed. He said, ‘The existing laws are out-dated, anachronistic, and out-of-sync with international best practices and current technological advances for decades’

Do you think there are other reasons behind the recession in the oil sector? Please share.

Written By: Daniel Enisan

source: http://www.edliner.com/3-reasons-nigeria-still-import-petroleum/23270