Apparently worried about the continued scarcity of petrol in the country, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) last week advised that the federal government should decentralize the distribution of petroleum products at the depots if it is serious about ending scarcity of petrol in the country.
According to the group, there are still some disturbing deficiencies in the downstream oil sector of the economy with regards to petrol importation and distribution. It said that only few depots are being engaged in importation activities, hence the need to decentralize importation in order to put an end to the biting scarcity.
Speaking with Shipping Position Weekly correspondent in Lagos last week, the chairman Lagos Zonal council of NUPENG Mr. Tokunbo Korodo argued that as long as the importation and marketing of petroleum products remain in the hands of few importers, the Nigerian economy would remain burdened by the petrol scarcity.
Korodo complained that the current scarcity has made most of the NUPENG members jobless because there is no product for them to lift in order to earn their income.
Korodo expressed his surprise that out of the 46 depots and storage facilities scattered around Lagos, only five of them are currently distributing PMS, arguing that as long as the situation remains unchanged, the scarcity that is being experienced will not abate.
According to him, it was regrettable that even after the much- talked- about payment of subsidy and issuance of license, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has not been sincere with the implementation, because major marketers are still not bringing in products due to lack of adequate cooperation. He observed that public institutions like the NNPC and the PPPRA are still the main drivers of importation in the down stream oil sector.
He said that the redundancy of many depots due to lack of patronage by NNPC is causing congestion as all tankers are in a mad rush to get products at all cost. He said that the current situation is making the NUPENG members especially the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) jobless.
Reacting to the proposed deregulation of the sector called by the federal government, Korodo reiterated the stand of the group saying that “presently we have not agreed in any way with the government over the planned deregulation of the down stream sector, we only gave them conditions”.
According to him, the conditions which are yet to be met include “the immediate repair of the refineries in the country and bringing them to work at full capacity, repair of the vandalized pipelines and reassurance and guarantee that should the deregulation commence our boys will not be sacked” he added.
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