By Peter Uzoho:
Petroleum products marketers in Nigeria have for the umpteenth time expressed frustrations and concern over the federal government’s continuous delay in the removal of petrol subsidy and total deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
Some of the marketers, who spoke to THISDAY, yesterday, said the delay in ending the wasteful petrol subsidy which had contributed in bleeding the economy and killing investor confidence and competition in the downstream sector was unnecessary and unsustainable.
They also demanded that the next president of the country must put strong priority on retooling the economy from the decline by initiating and implementing positive policies that would engender national economic growth.
The marketers said even before the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 approved the deregulation of the sector as part of the reforms in the nation’s petroleum sector, the payment of subsidy for imported petrol should have been jettisoned long ago.
The government had early this year postponed by 18 months -till June 2023, the initial plan to ditch fuel subsidy.
President Muhammadu Buhari while presenting the N20 trillion 2023 budget before the joint session of the National Assembly last week had restated that petrol would be removed in 2023, but kept silent on the exact month.
Owing to this, the immediate-past Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Tunji Oyebanji told THISDAY that the delay in discarding subsidy has made life complicated for them and their business.
Adding that the choice was the government’s to make in the matter, Oyebanji said the industry was waiting for government to finally decide to remove it.
He noted that they, the downstream players had been making efforts in preparation for the deregulation of the sector as approved by the PIA.
Oyebanji said, “Even if I’m worried from now till forever, if goverment doesn’t take action, unfortunately, it’s not within my power or the industry. It’s government’s decision. So, we have to wait until they decide to do what they want to do.
“We have always been making efforts in preparation for the deregulation of the sector. When the PIB was passed, the plan was to deregulate the downstream and we really geared up to it.
“In fact, the delay has made life a bit complicated for us because we thought we would have proceeded by now. We had been prepared all along, we had organised ourselves to fully compete. But that hasn’t happened.”
On the current petrol scarcity in Abuja, caused by massive flooding in Lokoja, Kogi State, which hampered the movement of petroleum bearing trucks to the nation’s seat of power and the north, he said the situation has got a lot of trucks stuck on the road.
He also advocated that the next president of Nigeria come 2023 must prioritise the reshaping of not only the oil and gas industry but the entire economy by initiating and implementing positive policies that would engender national economic growth.
“Not just for the industry alone but for the economy as a whole. I think given the economy the shape it requires should be the priority of whoever that emerges the next president of Nigeria. So, we look forward to some positive policy actions that will grow not just the oil industry but also the economy as a whole”, Oyebanji canvassed.
Another marketer affiliated to the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria
(DAPPMAN), who pleaded anonymity, told THISDAY that they became worried with the way government was handling the petrol subsidy removal and total deregulation of the downstream sector when it was postponed.
“From the moment it was postponed, we became concerned. Now that government has at least mentioned the year, it’s drawing closer. So, we look forward to a definite date. We’ve written to them, we’ve spoken to them, we’ve pleaded with them, all we have been saying is that they should start deregulation like yesterday. So, if the president mentioned 2023 without a definite month, well, we will soon start 2023 by January 1 and we will see how it goes,” the DAPPMAN member said.
Also on the Lokoja flooding and the resultant petrol scarcity and long queues in Abuja, he said they saw it before it happened, describing it as an act of nature.
He said the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) was trying to see how to supply the north through Calabar.
“They will deliver products to Calabar and people will take it from Calabar to the north while the one in the south will do the normal fee. They are checking many options. Many of our trucks are there. So, we know what is happening.
“We can’t blame anybody for the flood because it’s an act of nature, even though we can blame the government for not maintaining the roads properly. They’ve diverted all the trucks to Jebba-Mokwa road and that one too is bad now,” he stated.
