George Oji and Sufuyan Ojeifo
4 November 2009
Abuja — The current situation where there is "induced scarcity" inspite of the availability of enough fuel at filling stations, has justified the campaign for deregulation of the downstream oil sector, the Federal Govern-ment has said.
It however warned that it would not fold its arms and watch a few individuals cause motorists to suffer in the name of fuel scarcity.
It further warned that any marketer found to be hoarding petroleum products would face the full weight of the law.
Presidential spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, who disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja last night expressed regret, saying that "what has been happening is a shame and it all goes to highlight why the market has to be taken away from the grip of some opportunists who feed fat on our collective misery as a nation.
"As I am talking to you right now, I am aware that the NNPC has distributed within the country a stock of PMS enough to last 45 days even if everyone decides to fuel their cars everyday but these people are hoarding the commodity and in the process selling for scandalous prices."
Adeniyi said although government believed strongly that the planned deregulation of the downstream sector was in the interest of the nation, it would not resort to the past method of changing pump prices without concluding ongoing consultations with all the critical stakeholders.
Adeniyi explained that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua had always believed that the interest of the people would be better served and their welfare enhanced when their collective buy-in was secured on government policy.
He added: "On this issue, it is difficult to think of more important stakeholders than labour and that is why the president insists that they be carried along in the exercise."
"Deregulation is in the interest of everybody and the opening up of the telecoms sector has shown very clearly that ultimately the price of fuel does not have to be high. You all remember that when GSM was first introduced people were paying from between N14,000 to as much as about N30,000 for a SIM card, yet today, the same SIM card is now between N200 and N1,000. That is what you enjoy in a deregulated market," he further pointed out.
Adeniyi said consumers would begin to enjoy a fairer deal in the market once the current distortions and monumental corruption in the sector were removed and competition established, adding that it would encourage the building of private refineries and other associated benefits.
"President Yar'Adua believes deregulation is central to the reform of the oil and gas sector and that we must begin to think and act not only with an eye on the short term, but also for the medium and long term. And for that reason, he insists on continuous dialogue with labour and other critical stakeholders until we reach a meaningful consensus and hopefully that will come very soon," he stated.
Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday launched into an hour-long closed session at the end of which it resolved to summon the Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Mohammed Barkindo, to appear before it in connection with the yet-to-take-off deregulation of the downstream oil sector.
The haze over the date of commencement of the policy, which will finally stop the billions of naira spent on fuel subsidy annually, has in the last one week triggered artificial scarcity occasioned by hoarding of the product.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, said at a briefing shortly after the closed session that Lukman and Barkindo would brief the Upper House on the planned deregulation policy and the fuel scarcity that hit cities last week. He disclosed that other stakeholders, including the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwahab Omar, the Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the leadership of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) would be part of the briefing.
He said senators expressed concern about the long queues that resurfaced at filling stations, stressing that the Senate could not afford to be indifferent to the plight of Nigerians.
According to him, "we discussed the problem of fuel scarcity and deregulation and in due course, the Senate will be inviting all the relevant stakeholders to come and address us on all the issues so that we can make an informed decision on all the issues.
"We cannot wait and watch our people sleep in queues and we are mindful of what has happened in the past and we are not going to allow that kind of situation to happen again."
He added: "We had assurances that we have 40 days fuel sufficiency supply; but we are going to invite all the parties including labour to come and educate Nigerians on what the problems are and then we can apply all the legislative therapy to resolve the problem once and for all.
"What is happening is that the government has not even done the deregulation because it says there is no deregulation yet. But there are problems everywhere. There are cars waiting for days to get fuel."
Eze also said that the closed session discussed the forthcoming Senate retreat holding in Enugu from Monday, November 9 to Saturday, November 14.
He stated that the five-day retreat would afford the Senate the opportunity to appraise the on-going constitution review and the electoral reform being carried out by its adhoc Committee on Constitution Review under the chairmanship of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
Eze disclosed the theme of the retreat is "Legislating for an Enduring Electoral System in Nigeria." In his view, it reflects the desire of lawmakers to amend the constitution and review the Electoral Act for the benefit of the people.
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Right on! This withdrawal symptom is the best approach to wean Nigeria from its over dependence on imports of what should have been produced locally. Let the face off between the Feds & the gasoline hoarders continue - in six months or less, we will begin to see a return to nomalcy, depending on who blinks first. It will take a tough love approach like this to break the back of economic saboteurs. Albeit the public may suffer in the short run, they will reap the benefit, eventually, if they can just hang in there.
nigeria is not just a land of contradictions,where a nation has so much in aboundance in both human and natural resouses yet her citezenry lives in abject poverty.there is no light,no good road,no water to use and the oll we have so much in aboundance is a curse for the nation.is deregulation the problem of naija now?all the trillions of naira that have been allocated and looted what has the govt done about that?the only are that excites our govt is any are that will inflict further pains on nigerians.honestly the only solution to naija problems is REVOLUTION.Nigerians lets arise and fight fight for our right.
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