The Federal Government yesterday apologised to Nigerians for the hardships and inconveniences they had suffered as a result of the lingering fuel scarcity assuring the nation that it had taking urgent steps to address the situation.
In his first official reaction to the ultimatum issued to him and other senior government officials in the oil and gas industry by the National Assembly to resolve the problem of fuel scarcity in one week from last Tuesday or resign, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, also reasons why he would not resign over the issue.
He said at a news briefing hosted by the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, that he was still enjoying the confidence of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who appointed him.
“On the question of whether I am going to resign,” he said, “I am happy to say that I think I do have the confidence of Mr. President who appointed me. I am doing the best I can to resolve the issues as I have explained to you. I will continue to do so to work round the clock to resolve the issues.
“All of us here, including my sister, the Minister of Information also have to queue up to buy fuel. So I would have to ensure that she doesn’t have to do that. I myself have to do the same. So I will work round the clock to ensure that this problem is solved.”
At the briefing attended by Alhaji Sanusi M. Barkindo, GMD NNPC, Mr. Reginald Stanley, MD, PPMC, Alhaji Aminu Rabiu Kusa, GED C& I, Acting Executive Secretary, PPPRA, and Mr. Wole Ademolokun, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, he assured the nation that the situation would soon be brought under control,
saying the loading capacity at different jetties had increased, and distribution enhanced.
“As we speak, about 23 fuel cargoes from NNPC and private marketers are being discharged to help ameliorate the fuel situation. The average consumption is about 30-35 cargoes a month, and that is why I say that we are in control of the situation, because the cargoes are on their way, and we have ensured a seamless process to distribute the fuel to the stations.
“I just finished a meeting with major and independent marketers and they have confirmed additional 10 cargoes for the month of May, in addition to what the NNPC is bringing,” the minister said.
The minister explained that the fuel shortage was caused by the stoppage of supply by the major oil marketers, as a result a disagreement over the template on how the prices of petroleum products should be fixed.
The development, he added, led private marketers to withdraw from the market, leading to a steep shortage.
Ajumogobia also said the NNPC, which was responsible for only 47 per cent of the supply, had to account for 53 per cent supply shortfall from the private marketers.
“Work on the template is still progress; the marketers and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has met, and government has set up a committee, headed by President Umaru Yar’Adua himself.
“There is also a deregulation sub-committee that will take the recommendations of the committee and fashion out a new template, which we hope will be more friendly to the public,’’ he said.
The minister said the fact that Lagos State, from where more than 60 per cent of fuel distribution in the country was channelled, was shut down, with no loading, also complicated the problem.
He said, ‘‘The difficulties we are experiencing today are part of the transition to a deregulated market for fuel supply”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and one of the major industrial union involved in the operations of the country’s petroleum industry, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, yesterday gave varying accounts of what brought the urgly situation in the supply and distribution f petroleum products in the country.
While the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Baabatunde Oguns, took the federal government to task for failing to plan against the current fuel crisis even as it suspended the operations of subsidy to anable the holistic review of the operations of the downstream sector, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, said it was not true that an alleged heavy debt profile owed major petroleum marketers were responsible for the supply shortage.
Speaking at the meeting of the Standing Working Committee on Labour Issues in the Oil and Gas in Abuja, Oguns expressed outrage at the aparent indifference of government to the plight of Nigerians regarding the on-going fuel scarcity, saying government should take the blame for failing to plan ahead before tinkering with the issue of deregulation.
“Federal government should take responsibility for not planning against the current fuel supply crisis before dabbling into the issue of deregulation”, he said.
According to him, government had not considered the implication of the sudden suspension of the operations of the subsidy on the the local fuel supply situation before accepting the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Deregulation to thatg effect.
However, while government recently approved payment of N50bn to marketers in an effort to get them to commence import of petroleum products once again, the Minister who is a member of the Presidential Committee on Deregulation said government has decided to invite world-class auditors to establish if indeed marketers claims are geniune or not.
Kayode said it is still a contentious matter whether government is one owing the marketers or the other way round..
“Government is in the process of shooping for a world-Class auditor to verify the claims by major marketers in order to establish who is owing who but in the meantime, the managememnt of the Nigerian National Pegtroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been directed to import huge volumes of petroleum products to arrest the prevailing scarcity”, he said.
He said the Presidential committee on deregulation has had the odious task of establishing whether the more one trillion Naira spend by federal government subsidize petroleum products supply was really worthwhile or not.
“The intention is to put in place a solid structure that would ensure efficient supply of petroleum products at the cheapest possible cost and to block all existing leakages that led to soaring fuel prices in the past”, he said.
In apparent response to the nationwide protest threat issued by the Nigerian Labour Congress during the last Friday’s May-Day celebration on the issue of deregulation and electoral reform, the Minister said there is no need for calling workers out on protest as the issues involves are being tackled with the full participation of labour.
Kayode disclosed that as against the fears of possible increase in fuel price, the outcome of the Committee’s recommendations may likely lead to a downward price level for petroleum products.
“Right now, I can tell from the outcome that committee’s recommendations, we may end up paying a lesser amount than what it used to be but with a more efficient system that blocks all the leakages”, he said.
At the meeting which also had representatives of the oil companies under the auspices of the Oil Producers Trade Sector (OPTS), Kayode said there is doubt that the supply system as it is today is frought with all forms of leakages that needed to be plugged.
He described as unjustifiable the decision of NLC to use the issue of deregulation and electoral reform reasons for embarking on the planned mass protest scheduled for next week, since the congress is part of the committee working out modalities for a stable operation of the downstream petroleum sector.
“I want to clarify government’s position on the issue of deregulation. Government had established the committee on deregulation to tackle the problem arising from the planned introduction of deregulation policy and withdrawal of fuel subsidy and labour is part of it”.
“NLC is part of the Yaguda-led committee on deregulation and they are working together with government as partners which is what labour is. Labour is not supposed to be antagonists of government and they should never take a position as enemies of government, they are a very critical member of government. Labour is working together with government through the Presidential Committee and whatever is the recommendations of the committee will be very critically considered by federal government“, he said.
He said the same committee is considering the future of the existing refineries, whether we should have more refineries or what to do with the ones in place and labour is part of it.
He said both government and members of the organised labour are working together to give Nigerians the best fuel delivery system and at a cheapest possible cost.
On the issue of electoral reform, the MInister said embarking on protest on the account of the Uwais committee report is uncalled for since President Umaru Yar’Adua has sent the Bills on electoral reform to the National Assembly, adding that it is now left for all concerned to take their agitations to the National Assembly for consideration.
“The Uwais committee report came in form of recommendation to government on the electoral reform and the normal practice is that government will take a look at the report and then come up with a white paper”.
” If you look at the committee’s recommendations, everything in it requires a change in the constitution starting from the law dealing with the appointment f the Chairman of the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) which according to the existing constitution should be appointed by the President and rectified by the Senate. The committee recommended that the consitution be changed to allow the National Judicial Conucil (NJC) make the nomination and the power to ammend the country’s constitution is domiciled with the National Assembly”, he said.
He said the position of the President which is backed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is that the constitution should not be changed to reflect the recommendations by the electoral reform panel but that statusquo be maintained with efforts made to ensure that it provides a fair and equitable atmosphere for democracy to thrive.
“Everybody who is interested in changing the constitution on that ground should wait to make presentations to the National Assembly during its Public Hearing sessions. I think Labour should sheat their sword and keep their gun powder dry in wait for the Public Hearing of the National Assembly” , he said.