News
Kerosene Scacrity: NNPC Allocates 542m Litres To Marketers …IPMAN Forms Monitoring C’ttee
As the scarcity and high cost of kerosene persists in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it has allocated more than 542 million litres of kerosene (DPK) to oil marketers between January and June, in its bid to end kerosene scarcity in the country.
The figure is contained in the allocation records made available to newsmen yesterday in Abuja.
The records showed that the allocation was made to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).
Our correspondent reports that allocation to the marketers was done mainly through coastal allocation and loading from the NNPC depots in the country.
The breakdown showed that IPMAN received 42.7 million litres from coastal allocation, while MOMAN received 61 millions litres representing 41.18 per cent and 58.82 per cent respectively.
Of the 42.7 million litres allocated to IPMAN, 24.4 million litres were allocated in the first quarter, while MOMAN got 12.2 million of its 61 million litres coastal allocation during the same period.
The records also showed that there was no coastal allocation for both marketers for the month of April.
For the months of May and June, IPMAN got 18.3 million litres coastal allocation, while MOMAN got 48.8 million.
The records indicated that loading from the NNPC depots from January to June revealed that IPMAN was allocated 241.07 million litres and MOMAN got 124.20 million litres.
The figures represented 66 per cent for IPMAN and 34 per cent for MOMAN in the period under consideration.
Of the 241.075 million litres loaded from the NNPC depots, IPMAN loaded 144.83 million litres in the first quarter, while MOMAN loaded 83.16 million litres in the same period.
For the month of May and June, IPMAN loaded 86.25 million litres of DPK from NNPC depots while MOMAN loaded 41.04 million litres.
The records also revealed that IPMAN was further allocated 73.32 million litres of DPK through the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO Plc), a private depot in Lagos between January and June.
The records, however, indicated that there was no allocation of the product through NIPCO to IPMAN in January and March.
The grand total allocation for both marketers from January to June showed that IPMAN had 357.09 million litres of DPK while MOMAM had 185.20 million litres.
The figures represented 65.85 per cent and 34.15 per cent of the product to IPMAN and MOMAM respectively.
Our correspondent reports that there had been a lot of controversies and discrepancies in the recent past between oil marketers and the NNPC on the actual allocation to each group.
Our investigations revealed that these discrepancies and blame game had led to the continued scarcity of the product with each party accusing the other of insincerity.
IPMAN had accused NNPC of preferential treatment in favour of MOMAN, a claim which NNPC had since denied.
Meanwhile, Port Harcourt zonal chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Godwin Eruba, has accused NNPC of being responsible for the scarcity of the product.
Comrade Eruba who stated this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt explained that if there was scarcity of the product, NNPC should be blamed for the development.
According to him, NNPC was the only authorised body to import kerosene while others import premium motor spirit popularly called petrol.
He said that if NNPC did not have enough product, it should find excuse as to cover its inefficiency and inability to provide product to Nigerians.
“Look at the Port Harcourt depot for instance, it is electricity that is the excuse. Instead of loading 5,000 litres, the NNPC is loading only 2,000 litres with the excuse that these is no light to load enough products,” he explained.
The NUPENG boss also faulted the claim of NNPC that major oil marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) distributed 30,000 metric tonnes of kerosene to their retail outlets across the country, adding that the claim was a far cry from the true position of things in the industry.
Comrade Eruba said that the refusal of NNPC to allocate the product to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) whom he said were key players in the industry with their filling stations across the country was traceable for the epileptic and haphazard distribution of the product.
The head of Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Surveillance team, Engr Kelfy Braide said that the directorate was committed towards ensuring that the products lifted from the depots get to their destination and the end users.
He urged filling station operators to be humane in their operations, adding that there was no sense in hoarding or selling at exorbitant price when the masses were in need of the product.
In reaction to the allocation by the NNPC, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), says it has setup a 22-man committee to oversee allocation of petroleum products from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Mr Mike Osatuyi, National Secretary of IPMAN, told our correspondent Wednesday in Lagos that the committee was inaugurated on Tuesday.
Our correspondent reports that IPMAN had complained of inadequate allocation of petroleum products to its members by the Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and NNPC.
The committee is headed by Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, who has been empowered by the National Executive Committee of IPMAN to take charge of products allocation.
Osatuyi said that the committee was mandated to report its findings and solutions to the lingering crisis over products allocations to the association’s secretariat.
He urged the NNPC and PPMCto accord priority to IPMAN members in the allocation of kerosene to address the lingering scarcity of the product.
The IPMAN secretary said that that the earlier attempt by NNPC to distribute the product through IPMAN members was disrupted.
He said that it was clear that NNPC and PPMC were allocating insufficient products to its members as it was in the case of kerosene allocation.
“NNPC should go back to the modality used in 2009 for petroleum allocation in which IPMAN got 76 per cent while major marketers got 24 per cent.
“Government should treat IPMAN well in terms of products allocation because we are large in number and have the largest retail outlets across the country,’’ he said.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
-
Rivers4 days ago
Don Sues For Leadership Assessment Centre In IAUE
-
Niger Delta3 days agoOborevwori Boosts Digitalisation With Ulesson 500 Tablets To Pupils, Students
-
Business3 days ago
Cassava Flour Initiative Revival Can Up Economy By ?255b – COMAFAS
-
Sports4 days ago
Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification
-
Niger Delta3 days agoDon Highlights On The Potential Of Groundwater As Hidden Wealth For Sustainable Future
-
Rivers4 days ago
Group Seeks Prosecution Of Clergy, Others Over Attempted Murder
-
Opinion3 days ago
Restoring Order, Delivering Good Governance
-
Business3 days ago
CRG Partner JR Farms To Plant 30m Coffee Seedlings