Vanguard (Lagos)
Tony Edike
4 November 2009
Enugu — The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), yesterday advised the Federal Government to shelve the planned deregulation of the downstream oil sector for now, noting that unless the nation's refineries become functional, deregulation would create more problems for both Nigerians and the government.
Chairman of Enugu Depot of IPMAN, Chief Chidi Ezinwa, said in Enugu, that even though the independent petroleum marketers welcomed the idea of deregulation, necessary facilities must first be put in place to ensure its success.
He said, "there is just no way you can deregulate when all the petroleum depots in the country are not working. How do you want people to survive?
The government stopped oil importers since three months ago from importing Kerosene, today you can see the negative result. Kerosene now sells for between N130 and N140 per litre.
Ezinwa called for a policy that would make it mandatory for anybody or company allocated oil wells to own at least a refinery in the country to enable them refine part of the crude oil they lift from the country before exporting same.
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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.
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