The Zonal Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, Western Zone, Alhaji Debo Ahmed, has said the group will support the resolve of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the activities of operators and regulators in the oil and gas sector.
He also said the Buhari’s plan to split the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would address some of the observed lapses in the oil sector and stop the recurring fuel scarcity.
Speaking during a media briefing in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Monday, Ahmed said there were unwholesome happenings in the oil industry that must be checked.
He added that it was imperative to make the probe holistic so as to enhance efficiency, accountability and transparency in the sector.
He said, “We are in support of the probe of the oil sector and the probe should be extended to all the depots. Marketers pay N120,000 yearly for the renewal of our bulk purchasing. We have over 15,000 marketers nationwide, that is over N1.4bn. Up until today, they have not renewed the bulk purchase licence. What is bulk purchase? It is just a paper for their legal department to sign.
“They were supposed to have used the money realised from us to make sure that the pipelines are okay. Since this is not the case, how can we be paying money to obtain a licence? We don’t see the effect of this. Are the depots working now?
“The probe should not be limited to the NNPC headquarters alone. It should extend to the depots. From the depots, the public will be able to know what the corporation has been doing.”
Ahmed said it was imperative to split the NNPC to ensure efficiency. He reasoned that decision making was slow in the NNPC owing to its big size.
He stated that it was necessary to make the corporation profit oriented by splitting it.
He said IPMAN was concerned about the recurring fuel scarcity and lack of uniformity in the prices of petroleum products.
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