Business
Fuel Overpricing: Marketers Set To Sanction Depots, Filling Stations
Oil marketers under the aegis of the Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) have established and deployed a task force to check and sanction filling stations selling Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, at exorbitant prices.
The Tide source gathered that the decision was taken following reports that some filling stations were dispensing petrol above N300/litre, far higher than the price approved by the Federal Government.
On Wednesday, the source further gathered that while filling stations operated by major marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) were selling petrol between N194 and N200/litre, other outlets operated by independent marketers dispensed the product between N250 and N340/litre.
The report stated that this was despite the insistence of the Federal Government that there was no approval for an increase in the pump price of petrol, coupled with the government’s demand that PMS should not be dispensed above the approved rate.
“Government will not approve any increase of PMS (price) secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
“The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.
“This is not the time for any increase in the pump price of PMS,” the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had stated recently.
Reacting to the high cost of petrol, particularly outside Abuja and Lagos, on Wednesday, the President, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the association had deployed a task force to check the menace.
Speaking to the source, he said, “We frown at anybody selling so much above the price of what should be adequate. If they accessed the product at a high rate, then we would not sanction them.
“But if they accessed the product from NNPCL and sell it at exorbitant rates of N220, N250, we will sanction you. It is getting very punitive. So our task force now goes around and when we get them we invoke the powers of the NMDPRA over them.”
The NMDPRA is the Federal Government’s agency responsible for regulating the midstream and downstream oil sectors.
Gilly-Harry added, “By the time they (defaulters) go and settle all their fines, they will know that it is not worth selling at exorbitant prices with the intention to profiteer.
“That is what we are doing right now and I think Nigerians should be appreciative of PETROAN as regards this development”.
He explained that marketers who accessed the product from NNPCL should not dispense the commodity above N200/litre, but was quick to state that it was currently tough to get PMS from NNPCL.
“If you bought from NNPCL, you must be duty-bound to sell at a maximum of N200/litre, because NNPC sells at a maximum of N194/litre. So for some independent marketers, it is just N6 more, but the truth is that we are not seeing the product.
“Some of us who paid for products since October, have not been able to load till now, and the cost around this is increasing every day. So by the time they load it, you can imagine the cost burden on the marketers”, he stated.
The oil marketers’ president, however, assured Nigerians that PETROAN would work hard to curtail the activities of dealers who try to profiteer by dispensing petrol at exorbitant rates.
Meanwhile, oil marketers have threatened to name and expose private depot owners refusing to comply with the Federal Government’s directive to sell products at a regulated price of N172 per litre.
The National Controller, Operation, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, who disclosed this to The Tide’s source, said defaulters would be exposed after the general elections.
According to him, apart from Emadeb who has been selling to IPMAN members at N172/litre, other depot owners currently sell above N200/litre.
The Chairman, Satellite Depot, Akin Akinrinade, also confirmed the price discrepancies to The PUNCH on Tuesday.
He said, “It is only Emadeb that currently sells to us at N172 per litre. We are going to start naming all of them that refused to sell to us at the government-regulated price one by one after the elections. IPMAN members can’t bear the brunt of price differences.”
IPMAN with over 30,000 members currently controls about 80 per cent per cent of petrol distribution across the country.
Nigeria consumes between 60 and 66 million litres of petrol per day, according to data provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Akinrinade also told The PUNCH that only NNPCL depots at Satellite and Ejigbo sell to his members at N172/litre.
“Things are moving fine now because there are products. Our members have continued to load, however, only NNPCL depots at Satellite and Ejigbo sell to us at N172 per litre. Private depots sell above N200 per litre”, he added.
The Federal Government task force team earlier in the month said it had teamed up with private depots to sell petrol to marketers at a regulated price of N172 per litre.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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