The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva made the appeal in a statement made available to reporters on Sunday by his media aide Horatius Egua, who stated all responsible agencies are working around the clock to get fuel to people as soon as possible.

President Muhammadu Buhari, he said, understands the hardships that the fuel scarcity has caused Nigerians and has urged all concerned parties to restore normality as soon as possible.

The administration is attempting to find a long-term solution to the problem and the accompanying hardship, according to the statement.

“In the last weeks, Nigerians have grappled with fuel scarcity not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure, which allowed adulterated products into the country.

“This is regrettable, and the Federal Government sympathizes with the citizenry over the unforeseen hardship, occasioned by the inevitable scarcity.

“Let me once again appeal to Nigerians to be patient with the government in finding lasting solutions to the crisis,” Sylva said.

While acknowledging the lapse which caused adulterated fuel to be brought into the country, he said the blame game must be avoided, adding that when normalcy is restored, then investigations will follow and all those found guilty will face the law accordingly.

“It is not a time to trade blames as is customary in Nigeria. It is, therefore, not a time to query anyone but a time to come together to salvage the plight of the average Nigerian.

“After the storm settles, there will be time enough to investigate and get to the bottom, so that this does not repeat itself.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s charge to all parties and agencies concerned is to work together to ensure that normalcy returns quickly.

“The Nigerian people deserve the best and the government is determined to set the country on the right path of petroleum products availability and sustainability,” Sylva added.