Business
‘Deregulate Downstream Oil Sector’
As the Federal Govern
ment continues to grapple with funding infrastructural development and the high recurrent expenditure, a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has advocated total deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Chief Diekivie Ikiogha made the observation at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in a chat with newsmen on Tuesday, shortly before departing for Abuja.
Chief Ikiogha, who is the Chief of Staff Bayelsa House, Abuja, noted that the rich are the major beneficiaries of the subsidy regime, as most of them own fleet of cars that are not necessary.
He opined that government has never been a good business entity to venture into building of refineries, stressing that removal of subsidy would enable private individuals to invest in owning refineries.
Chief Ikiogha debunked insinuations that the price of transport and goods and services would rise if the sector is deregulated, insisting that the only way to provide better services for the common man was to utilize the subsidy funds to provide basic social amenities.
“How does my mother in the village benefit from subsidy, it is a way of government buying fuel for the big men that own 10 cars”, noting that what the government it doing in the power sector should be allowed to happen in the downstream sector.
The Chief of Staff lauded the federal government for the initiative to privatise Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), emphasizing that the benefit of the decision would manifest later to the overall good of Nigerians.
According to him, the duty of government is to provide the enabling environment and provide the regulatory framework for the private operators rather than engage directly on the day to day management of the company.
On the call for sovereign national conference, Chief Diekivie, said it is like calling for the separation of the country because the conference would never agree on any issue that would present itself.
The PDP stalwart hinted that if the conference is based on how to look at the country and give respect to each ethnic group, “we may welcome it because the population of Nigeria is what makes the nation great”.
“No section of the country is born to rule others, we are equal stakeholders in the country, no one president has ruled this country once and resigned, that of President Jonathan cannot be different,” he declared.
The Chief of Staff said president Jonathan remains the most qualified person to rule Nigeria come 2015, while denying any understanding to serve one tenure in office.
Business
NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products
Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.
The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.
The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.
“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.
NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.
