—DPR to revoke licences of depots hoarding products
By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
The biting fuel scarcity in the country is expected to be over within the next 24 hours as the Federal Government yesterday signed an agreement with oil marketers.
This was just as the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (upstream and downstream) reached an agreement with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to immediately revoke the licences of depot owners who refused to comply with the agreement entered into by the government and oil marketers.
The Senate had last week, through a motion moved by the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), ordered its committees on petroleum resources (upstream and downstream) to investigate reasons responsible for the fuel scarcity that has lingered for over a month across the country and about two months in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking to newsmen after a closed door meeting with critical stakeholders yesterday, chairman of the joint committee, Senator Magnus Abe, disclosed that a truce was reached between the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and oil marketers.
He said: “I’m glad to announce to all of us that we have been able to reach some understanding that we believe will bring immediate solution to the immediate problems in the supply and distribution of products nationwide.
“I also want to thank the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Joseph Dawha, for his determined intervention with the unions within the NNPC that also resulted in a solution to the problems of the strike in the NNPC just in the course of our meeting right now.
“So, as we speak now we have clear information that NUPENG and PENGASON strike has been called off following the intervention of the GMD of NNPC.”
According to him, the committee “also agreed with DPR that any depot that has product and failed to begin lifting within the next six hours should have their licence revoked immediately.”
Abe further disclosed that the committees, at their sitting yesterday, succeeded in making the critical stakeholders in the sector, such as the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Depot Managers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), to call off their strikes.
Also, oil marketers who appeared before the senate joint committee yesterday also assured Nigerians that within the next 24 to 48 hours, the scarcity would be a thing of the past, adding that there would be immediate solution to the immediate problems in the supply and distribution of petroleum products nationwide.
The agencies and government officials at the meeting were the finance minister, MOMAN, NNPC and Pipeline Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC).
Others are Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), DPR, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and NARTO.
