Expert Proffers Solution To Nigeria’s Energy Challenges

As divergent views continue to trail insinuations over another hike in the prices of petroleum products, an energy expert, Dr Samuel Dike, has warned that any attempt to make Nigerians pay more for petroleum products would be counter productive.
Dike who holds a doctorate degree in Energy Law in an interview with The Tide said Nigerians were already at the brickwall due to recession caused by inappropriate policies of Federal Government .“Government has erased subsidy in the petroleum sector, increased pump price two times in this adminsitraiton, promising that things will get better, and things are not getting better.
“For Government to come up with the idea of further price increase means government is incompetent to handle of Nigerian problems and the towel should throw in the well,” he said.
Advising Federal Government to jettison any such idea the don proffered solutions to the current challenges confronting product availability in particular and critical aspects of the sector.
Dike stressed the need for government to stop importation of petroleum and invest all the money recovered from politicians in refineries for adequate production to meet the needs of the people.
“Government should grant lincence to more individuals and groups with capacity to establish refineries.
“Government should recognise the illegal refineries, talk with the operators and regulate their activities so that they could be producing and pay taxes to the government”, he said.
Dike who studied in University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom advised Federal Government to replicate the mineral Mining Act 2007 by which government recognised small-scale miners, granted them licence to produce minerals, Gold, Limestone such that the beneficiaries are today rich in the north.
He explained that such legal framework should also be introduced for small scale operators n the Niger Delta region instead of tagging them as illegal bunkerers.
The energy expert called on government to recognise, regulate and empower them so that they could operate legally and flood the local market with petroleum products. He also urged government to restructure the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and make sure it is well positioned to promote energy security.
The university lecturer who is also the Managing Director, Global Research Support Limited, stressed the need for domestic supply obligations to all companies so that after empowering them they can be invovlved in producing and supply to the domestic market before they export.
On the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta region, he emphasised that for fruitful negotiation between the militants and the Federal Government noting that the Niger Delta, according to United Nations Energy Information and Administration, has produced over $400 billion worth of crude oil since oil was first struck in commercial quantity but regretted that the region has no tangible development to show for the huge contribution other than pollution and environmental degradation.
He said when development in the region is commensurate with what it had yielded such that cities in the region becomes like Abuja, and people from the region accorded their rightful position in the oil sector, the militant agitation would be a thing of the past.

Chris Oluoh