By Edith Ike-Eboh

Malam Bello Rabiu, a Former Chief Operating Officer, Upstream  of the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has recommended Long, Medium and short term ways to achieve full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

Rabiu made the recommendation in a report presented at a media education series on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, on Sunday.

NAN reports that the Federal Government in March 2020 announced full deregulation of the downstream oil sector which brought about controversies as petrol price continued to increase in the country.

He said that in the medium and Long term, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must provide access to foreign exchange at the official rates to the importers.

He noted that the regulators should also enable the market to determine the price of Petroleum products and services.

He added that to encourage competition, the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and National Transportation Allowance (NTA) charges should be removed from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) template.

“In establishing the true cost of importation of products, PPPRA should resume the publication of key elements of its templates such as FOB Costs and FX rates.

“If NNPC remains a sole importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, the total cost of importing the product should be publicly disclosed and the imported product should be shared to all eligible wholesalers at cost.

“ To minimise actual cost of importation, government should carry out a benchmark audit on the current Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement to determine if it is still cheaper than cost incurred by other Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs),’’ he said.

He noted that expanding the port capacity to receive liquid fuels in greater quantities or increasing the speed of discharge, increasing fuel storage capacity, and enabling cheaper transport of petroleum products (by pipeline or rail rather than road transport) remained important.

In the short term, he recommended effective operation of the network of pipelines and depots to depend on the continuous operations of the four refineries.

“ Private sector investments into these critical infrastructures when reinforced with appropriate ownership and governance structures operating under a transparent and open access regulatory environment will guarantee sustainable development of a liberalized downstream petroleum sector.

“The decision to privatise or enter concessions with respect to the assets is a strategic one based on what the government perceives its future role in the sector to be and the market appetite for partnership with the Government.

“The recent pronouncement from National Assembly that Government Plans to engage Strategic investors this year with majority equity of 51 per cent is a welcome development,’’ he said. (NAN)

By George Edomwonyi

The Management of Macana Company Limited, an investor in solid minerals in Edo, has urged the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to urgently tackle the activities of illegal miners operating in the state.

The company said there was need to tackle illegal mining, particularly in Dagbala, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of the state.

The company made the call on Sunday after a meeting between its  management and the traditional institution of Dagbala led by the Okaku I of Dagbala, Albert Agbebaku.

Mr Fatai Jimoh,  Macana Operating Officer, while briefing journalists after the meeting, said Dagbala, which has a large deposit of gold had become the operational base of illegal miners.

He said the illegal miners disrupt the activities of licensed miners.

Jimoh said the firm had written several petitions to the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development over the illegal miners in Dagbala, adding that they were still waiting for action from the ministry against the illegal miners.

Jimoh said the activities of illegal miners were also robbing the Federal Government of the much needed revenue in the sector.

“The illegal miners have graduated from working without papers to working with papers in areas where they do not have jurisdiction or licence to mine for gold or any mineral.

“They parade fake licences to hoodwink security men when they are confronted.

“We have reported the matter to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. The ministry should come out strongly against such illegal activities.

“The Mining Cadastral Office should do more than they are doing whenever there is a report,’’ he said.

Jimoh said that the security operatives needed to learn how to identify fake mining licences.

“What I mean is that every licence has its longitude and latitude, whoever says he has a licence can only work where its longitude and latitude stipulate, he said.

He said the traditional rulers needed to be reminded that all minerals belonged to the Federal Government and they (rulers) should respect the Mining Cadastral Office and stop giving consent to illegal miners for existing places,” he said. (NAN)

By Edith Ike-Eboh

Malam  Bello Rabiu , a Former Chief Operating Officer, Upstream of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  says that  full deregulation of the Nigerian downstream oil sector does not stop with removal of subsidies by the government.

Rabiu disclosed this in a report presented at a Media Education series on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on Deregulation of the Downstream Petroleum sector obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, on Sunday.

NAN reports that the Federal government in March 2020 announced the full deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector.

The Development  which was supported by stakeholders in the industry  brought about monthly  increment in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol as government removed payment of subsidy to allow market forces to determine the price of petrol.

The price of Petrol since the announcement had increased from N145 to about N170 per liter in various petrol stations across the country.

“Full deregulation is not limited to removal of Government subsidies alone, it will require the creation of competitive market environment which will require the supply of products at commercial prices to consumers.

“Competent players must be allowed to fully participate to grow the market through deployment of technology, good governance and international best practices,’’he said

According to him, unrestricted and profitable investments in infrastructure must be open to all players.

This, he said would be achieved through a level playing field adding that deregulation must allow reasonable earnings to investors.

Rabiu noted that a strong regulator was required to actualise full deregulation of the petroleum sector and not a regulator for price fixing of products.

“A strong regulator is required to monitor and enable transparent and fair competition among players in the industry,’’he added.

He further noted that full deregulation must have effective control of natural monopolies such as pipelines and protect consumers and prevent market dominance.

He called for the passage of PIB to back the deregulation policy with law and to enable Nigerians benefit effectively.

“Full deregulation of the downstream  petroleum sector is a critical National Economic  and Strategic endeavour requiring the support and  cooperation of all stakeholders to implement.

“All hands should be on deck to ensure the attainment of  transparent, competitive efficient and sustainable liberalised  downstream sector in Nigeria,’’ he said (NAN),

By Nana Musa

Roadside sellers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, are still in business hawking products in some part of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the long queue at filling stations was gradually disappearing after eight days of panic buying occasioned by rumour of petrol price increase.

The roadside sellers were seen hawking the product between Wuse, Gwarimpa, Wuye and Kubwa expressway with some buyers still patronising them.

NAN reports that the price ranged between N280 and N300 per litre.

One of the roadside seller, Mr Umar Hassan, said he was happy by the scarcity experienced within the week because it afforded him an opportunity to make brisk business.

He said though the long queue was reducing, some fueling stations were yet to sell while some motorists who did not have patience still patronised them.

“A lot of people are not patient to wait on the long queue so they would rather patronise us.”

Hassan said what they sell was not adulterated, adding that he got his product from a trusted source.

Another seller, Ibrahim Mubarak, said he was engaged in the roadside business to make ends meet as an unemployed youth.

A buyer, Mr Eze Nwachukwu, said that he patronise the roadside because there were still queues at the petrol station, adding that his business would not allow him to join the long queue.

He urged the government to normalise the constant friction in the oil industry.

Nwachukwu also said that some filling stations were not selling at approved rate, calling on the authorities to solve the problem.

Mrs Angela Uba, who was on the queue waiting to buy fuel, said that she would rather buy from the fueling station than buy from roadside.

“I had an ugly experience last week after buying bad fuel from black marketers, I had to change my fuel pump.

“The queue has gone down. I believe everything will go back to normal from next week,” Uba said. (NAN)