There was shortage of kerosene in Lagos and its environs yesterday following the inability of marketers to meet the demand of consumers. A market survey showed that consumers could not get the product to buy at outlets of major and independent marketers in the metropolis and outskirts. Some retail outlets that have the product sold at over N200 per litre against the recommended N50 per litre.
Spokesman of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC, Mr. Nasir Imodagbe, refused to pick his call when National Mirror contacted him on the issue yesterday.
The Secretary General of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, also did not respond to text messages sent to his cell phone. But many consumers alleged that the marketers who got allocation from NNPC at subsidised rate usually divert it to unauthorised outlets in order to make brisk business.
It has even been alleged that marketers may have paid over N195.5 billion as bribe to officials of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation before getting allocations to lift the product between 2010 and 2012.
A source alleged that the NNPC compelled marketers to pay a bribe of N25 per litre which was usually described as mobilisation fee, to the petroleum ministry and top NNPC officials before they could get allocations to lift kerosene.
The source added; “So many things are happening and that is why it is almost impossible to sell kerosene to end users below N170. For any marketer to get allocation you will pay N25 per litre and this is aside other expenses that are incurred to get the product to the end users.”
The NNPC has been the sole importer of kerosene despite a directive by the late President Umoru Yar’Adua in 2009, which asked the corporation to discontinue subsidy on kerosene. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezeni Alison-Madueke said the subsidy was not withdrawn because the process of getting it removed was not completed.
She argued that the masses who make use of kerosene would suffer in many parts of the nation if the subsidy is removed. At present, the pricing template made available on the PPPRA website put the cost and freight of kerosene at N130.47; lightering expenses, N4.09; NPA charges, N0.68; financing, N0.64; Jetty depot charge, N0.80; and storage charge, N3.00.
These, according to the PPPRA, amount to N140.97 and with another N15.49 distribution margin, the total cost is N156.46 per litre. This, the PPPRA stated, included retailers’ margin of N4.60, transporters’ margin of N2.99, dealers’ margin of N1.75, bridging fund of N5.85, marine transport average of N0.15 and administrative charges of N0.15.
However, the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has dismissed allegations that its staff collects a N25 per litre mobilization fee from marketers before allocating kerosene to them as lies fabricated by some persons to tarnish the image of the corporation.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, who challenged anyone with evidence of such payment to tender it so that the staff concerned can be identified and punished.
It will be recalled that a national daily carried a report over the weekend stating that NNPC officials collected bribes amounting to N195 billion from marketers before allocating kerosene to them.
Source: National Mirror
No comments:
Post a Comment