Business

Stakeholders Decry Slow Pace Of Ogoni Clean-Up

Published

6 years ago

April 18, 2018

Some prominent sons of Ogoniland in Rivers State have expressed reservations over the ongoing clean-up of oil spill impacted sites in the area by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), saying, clean-up exercise is yet to meet the yearnings and expectations of the Ogoni people, following hiccups that have trailed it so far.
The Ogoni stakeholders, who bared their minds in separate interviews with newsmen during a free medical outreach organised by HYPREP in Taabaa Community in Khana Local Government Area recently said the clean-up exercise has been hampered by a number of factors.
A lecturer with the University of Port Harcourt and member of HYPREP’s Governing Council, Prof Ben Naane said he was not satisfied with the progress made so far by the agency on the clean-up exercise, essentially because of the processes involved in accessing funds for the remediation project.
He said one year after HYPREP started work, the money lodged in the Escrow Account which he noted comes in foreign currencies, to enable the agency to fast-track the project, was yet to be accessed, adding that the procurement processes, rather than facilitating HYPREP’s work had equally been a major setback.
Naane, however, indicated that both HYPREP and the Governing Council had fashioned a way out of such setbacks, as they had continued to pursue the agency’s core mandate in providing livelihoods and healthcare to the Ogoni people by relying on its own resources.
On his part, the President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and member HYPREP’s Governing Council, Mr Legborsi Pyaagbara said the major challenge affecting the clean-up exercise is bureaucracy, saying, he would prefer a situation where HYPREP is given a free hand to operate to enable it access funds for the remediation project with ease.
While describing the ongoing medical outreach as a welcome development, the MOSOP President appealed to Ogoni people to exercise patience to ensure that the entire remediation project becomes a huge success at the end of the day.
The Chairman of the Conference of Ogoni Traditional Rulers and Gbenemene Bua Baghua Kingdom, HRH Mene Suanu Baridam also lamented the slow pace of the clean-up project and urged the Federal Government to do more for the full implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland.
The traditional ruler while commending HYPREP for the medical outreach stressed the need for provision of potable water to the people.
Meanwhile, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr Marvin Dekil has promised that remediation of impacted sites in Ogoniland would commence in a couple of months, as invitation for pre-qualification of contractors for the exercise had been advertised in some national and international dailies, assuring that the project would be handled only by experienced and best contractors to achieve the desired results.
Dekil, who dropped the hint while declaring open the second phase of the medical outreach, said HYPREP was in the process of providing potable water to Ogoniland and promised that the agency would in the coming weeks launch its livelihoods intervention programme to give new sets of skills to Ogoni women and youths.
Over 1,000 Ogonis benefited from the medical outreach in Taabaa community last Saturday.

Donatus Ebi

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

5 days ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

1 week ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu