• FG to build new refineries, to reduce oil impact on economy

Barely 24 hours after reports indicated the possibility of partial deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, and days the country had a breather from scarcity, long queues have resurfaced at filling stations across the country, as most of them indulged in product hoarding ahead of the deregulation. This comes as  survey carried out by public opinion poll released by NOIPolls, revealed that 85 percent of Nigerians are buying the petrol above the regulated price of N86.50, per litre.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, couple of days ago, had said, its members had overcome foreign exchange, Forex challenges as they have been granted Forex access to import petroleum products. Also, Major Oil Marketers, MOMAN, disclosed to have more than 10 days stock at the depots, with about four other vessels not yet discharged, averaging 85million litres of petrol.

Vanguard gathered that buyers are again struggling to get the scarce product at whatever cost, leading to traffic logjam on major roads in the Lagos metropolis, while many of the stations visited along Apapa, Badagry Road, Ajegunle, Amukoko and Festac were shut down claiming they had no product. Specifically, MRS, Mobil, at Festac, Total, and Faweye Oil and Gas claimed they had no fuel and were waiting for delivery soon. The NNPC and Total at Second Rainbow, Amuwo, and Forte Oil, at Berger were dispensing at regular prices but had very long queues to contend with.

Meanwhile, depot owners in Apapa have refused to sell at the government approved ex-depot price, as a number of the depots in the area were allegedly selling petrol to marketers at about N90 and N95 per litre, far above the approved price of N76 per litre.

Specifically, most of the independent marketers’ depots at Ibafon, such as Acorn Plc, Aquitane Oil and Gas Ltd, Ascon Oil Ltd, Eterna Plc, First Nigerian Independent Oil, Ibeto Petrochemical Industries, Sahara Energy Resources, SEA Petroleum & Gas Company, Taleveras Group of Companies, T-Time Petroleum Services, Zenon Petroleum And Gas, and Total Nigeria Plc, were not selling, as they said they have run out of the commodity.

Meanwhile, according to the latest public opinion poll released by NOIPolls, a majority of Nigerians, about 85 percent, bought petrol above the official pump price of N86.50; and at an average pump price of N176 per litre in April this year. The report revealed that the North-East and South-East geopolitical regions of the country recorded the highest average prices of N199 and N194 per litre respectively.

“In addition, amongst the 85 percent who bought petrol above the approved pump price of N86.50, almost 6 in 10 (59 percent) respondents in this category bought the product between N150 and N250 per litre. “Furthermore, 50 percent of respondents bought petrol from Independent Marketer filling stations, 24 percent from Major Marketer filling stations, and 14 percent from Black marketers; leaving only 12 percent who said they bought the product from Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC filling stations.”

Petrol for power The Poll also revealed that perennial power outages contributed significantly to the petrol scarcity as about 73 percent of respondents said they use the product to power their ‘generators’. “Similarly, 58 percent use petrol to power ‘cars’ and 28 percent use petrol to power ‘Tricycles & Motorcycles’ popularly known as Keke and Okada. Finally, the poll highlighted the mixed opinions expressed by Nigerians on the issue of petrol subsidy, as 48 percent say they support subsidy removal of subsidy, while 52 percent say they do not support the removal.”

Furthermore, the survey revealed that “about 8 in 10 adult Nigerians (81 Percent) say they bought petrol in April 2016; with about 50 percent of that population buying products from Independent Marketer filling stations despite NNPC being the sole importer of the refined product. “The South-East zone (68 percent) presented as the zone with the highest in this category.”

Continuing, the report said that “24 percent confirmed that they bought petrol from major marketers and the South-West zone (33 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians in this category which can be attributed to the heavy presence of Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to ensure that marketers comply with the official pump price.

In the meantime, Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachukwu, has said new refineries will soon be built to curb incessant fuel scarcity bedevilling the country.

Apart from tackling the scarcity in the country, when fully operational, Nigeria will also stand a chance to export to other countries.

The minister was speaking in Kaduna, on Tuesday, during a townhall meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of Information.

This was as the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed, said the Federal Ministry of Information decided to organise the townhall meeting to intimate Nigerians on how government had fared in the last 11 months.

The minister noted that “Nigerians voted for us, believing that we will carry out our promises. So, how have we fared so far? Well, we campaigned on three broad areas—to tackle insecurity, fight corruption and revive the economy.”

On the fight against insecurity, he said: “I am happy to inform this gathering that we have performed a rare feat by subduing Boko Haram, making it impossible for the group to carry out any more spectacular attacks as it did in the past, when it virtually strolled into Abuja to attack the Police Headquarters and the United Nations Complex.

“Some will argue that the insurgents are still carrying out sporadic suicide bombings and other attacks, even though they are now very few. Well, our answer to that is simple: By its very nature, no insurgency ends suddenly. They taper off with  time. Insurgencies are not conventional wars and no agreements are signed to silence the guns.”

On the fight against corruption, the minister said: “Today, Nigerians are less tolerant of corruption and corrupt people than before. This is because we have raised the bar in the fight against this cankerworm. We have also brought to the attention of Nigerians the cost of corruption. Thanks to the sensitisation campaign we launched earlier this year. Nigerians now know the cost of corruption, instead of just talking about it in the abstract.

On the economy, he said: “This administration has decided to turn the disaster of the fall in the price of oil to a blessing, by working to diversify our economy away from oil.
“Agriculture, solid minerals, culture and tourism are some of the sectors we are currently working to rejuvenate so they can earn huge revenues for the country and create jobs. While these efforts are on, the administration has decided to plug all financial leakages through the Treasury Singles Account (TSA), into which trillions have accrued so far.”

Also, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, disclosed the determination of the Federal Government to reduce the impact of oil on the economy.

Addressing participants at the Ogun State Investors’ Forum, which opened in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Tuesday, Adeosun said although oil accounts for 70 per cent of all government revenue, Nigerian was actually not an oil economy as it constituted only 13 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“By fully harnessing the potential of our non-oil sectors, we can create a more diversified and resilient revenue base, which would provide the necessary fiscal buffers to insulate the economy against the impact of external shocks in the future,” the minister stated.

While reiterating the resolve of the Federal Government to redefine spending in order to get maximum impact, the minister explained that the current administration was determined to ensure that from now on, government spending in Nigeria would achieve maximum impact.

Noting that government spending in previous years had been ineffective and not directed in the right areas, the minister reiterated the focus of the government on investing in critical infrastructure to enable growth.

Adeosun also spoke on the need for the Federal Government to play its role so that states can focus on their core functions.

According to her, the Federal Government would level the playing field by removing rent-seeking opportunity to unleash entrepreneurial activity and job creation, adding that “we must engage in economic patriotism to support local job growth.”

She commended the Ogun State government for patronising local entrepreneurs in producing its conference bags.

Adeosun concluded by giving the assurance that government was fully aware of the current economic challenges facing individuals and businesses and was working very hard on resetting the economy on the path towards achieving sustainable growth.
She added that better days were ahead, with President Buhari’s resolve to checking corruption and wastage.

In a related development, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said that power generation was picking up after last week’s vandalism of power stations in the Niger Delta.
He announced this while addressing newsmen after inspecting facilities at Shiroro Hydro Power Station (SHPS) in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, on Tuesday.

Fashola said there was a slight increase of three megawatts from the previous week drop to 2005 megawatts in the country.
The minister, however, said measures were being taken to ensure stability in the supply, adding that generating companies should live up to expectations.

“I don’t want us to focus on megawatt; for me, they are just bus stops; we will only announce them as milestone that we have reached the bus stops, but we know our journey is much more longer.
“I have spoken on our incremental power, to steady power, to uninterrupted power and that is the journey.

Vanguard with additional report from Tribune