PPRA Insists On Deregulation, Says Its The Only Answer to Fuel Scarcity

Even as government is yet undecided on the commencement date for the policy of deregulation of the downstream sector, the Chairman of the Governing Council of Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA), Dr Ahmadu Ali, has declared that deregulation of the down stream is the only answer to the fuel crisis.
Ali, made this statement last week in Kaduna when he led members of the PPRA governing board for a facility verification tour after the completion of the 7th turn around maintenance of the Kaduna refinery.
Apparently convinced that here is no alternative to deregulation, he maintained that "if they deregulate, the fuel will be available in the market and the NNPC and other operators will still make profit."
"The 7th turn around maintenance had just finished and they will start production very soon, which is very encouraging in the situation which we find ourselves. If crude supply from the South is uninterrupted, we will soon be flooded with enough products in the market."
Recalling the birth of the refinery, Ali remarked that “the Kaduna refinery is a fantastic project that the government started; but unfortunately, it is not being properly maintained.
He however lamented that the refinery has been bedevilled by certain bottlenecks which according to him, contributed to its present state. "The logistics and long bureaucratic procedures in every government parastatal is holding them down; because it is not realistic to say that the managing director of a refinery as big as this has no power to give any contract beyond five million naira. Even the road network in the plant is more than that of the township; not to talk of the machinery. If anything that requires more than five million goes wrong he can’t move. He has to wait for approval, which may take months, sometimes years."
According to him, there is an urgent need for a total change in the management style of the nation’s petroleum management agencies, adding that this crucial for the smooth and efficient running of the nation’s refineries. "That’s why we have to make sure that they operate on a commercial basis. This will help us reduce the cost of fuel at petrol stations; because if the products are available, there is no need to hike price at all. So, deregulation is the only answer. There is no doubt about that."