The House of Representatives has unveiled plans to investigate syndicates involved in petroleum products racketeering as well as the status of over 23 NNPC depots and national pipeline networks across the country.
The Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN).
Ugochinyere said that the stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at seeking ways to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians in the face of subsidy removal, rising cost of living, inflation, instability of the exchange rate, insecurity and other challenges that currently torment Nigeria.
Ugochinyere also disclosed that the stakeholders agreed to encourage “local refiners with licence to increase refining which will help to create more jobs and reduce pressure on our foreign exchange”.
According to Ugochinyere, the Committee also commended the leadership of NARTO for calling off the strike which has given room for resumed distribution of petroleum products.
They equally commended the National Security Adviser, the Minister and the NNPCL for their roles in the mediation to ensure that NARTO returned to the road.
According to the agreements reached at the meeting as disclosed by Ugochinyere, The Committee agreed with NARTO and PETROAN to “find sustainable solutions to the present challenges facing the petroleum distribution and petrol outlet owners to avert any other strike or obstruction of the supply retail chain.
“The committee also agreed with NARTO and PETROAN for an all-inclusive meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, regulators and other key stakeholders including security agencies to tackle issues of multiple charges, sharp practices and rising cost of transportation to help achieve sustainable and affordable product distribution and pricing system”.
Ugochinyere also said that the committee agreed to “monitor closely the ongoing repair of our national refineries and also investigate the issue of retail owners who pay for petroleum products they don’t get and the emergence of middlemen who now sell these products to the real petrol outlet owners which is the reason why the price keeps rising.
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Ugochinyere also disclosed that the committee agreed to look into the status of the over 23 NNPC depots and the national pipeline network to ensure that all of them are working.
According to him, “We are going to look into this situation and find out also why the concession and the contract that has been given for some of these pipelines have not been completed to ease the movement of petroleum products.
“The Committee also agreed for a legislative action to look into how to reduce the freight cost by ensuring the dredging of the seaport that can open vessel landing corridors in other sectors apart from Lagos, Warri, Port-Harcourt and Calabar so that the prices of product movement can be reduced.
“They also agreed to reactivate the pipelines for petroleum products distribution and inclusion of modern technology and a new system of monitoring to avert vandalisation”.
Ugochinyere said that the committee also agreed to “consult further on the issue of amending the PIA to provide room for the inclusion of stakeholders in the downstream sector petroleum distribution and retailing chain in the purview of NNPC so that they can be part of that retailing chain and be able to resolve challenges when they come up without us waiting for warning strike before stakeholders can come together and start tackling it,”.
Major stakeholders in the oil and gas industry were present at the meeting and made recommendations.
Emmanuel Ukoh
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