By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Marketers are canvassing full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) within six months, which should include removal of fuel subsidy, something both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have sought for years.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed and Petroleum Resources Minister of State Timipre Sylva both argue that subsidy wastes funds. Ahmed says its benefits the rich, not the poor. Sylva says it encourages fuel smuggling to neighbouring countries.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Mele Kyari told lawmakers in Abuja on September 2 that fuel subsidy will remain till 2022 but the phasing out will be determined by negotiations between Abuja and Labour.
Kyari acknowledged that fuel price hike will adversely affect citizens and national security but stressed that subsidy will end when the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) becomes fully operational.
However, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) Chairman Olumide Adeosun says it is better to have full downstream sector deregulation within six months in line with the PIA, per Vanguard reporting.
He disclosed in Lagos that MOMAN has made its position known to Abuja in a letter written to Petroleum Resources Minister of State Timipre Sylva, saying the group expects a free, fair, and competitive downstream sector.
Adeosun said Nigeria has the potential to become Africa’s energy hub if the PIA is properly implemented in collaboration with industry practitioners and operators to ensure there is no disconnect between policy provisions and actual practice.
“Making the transition to a fully competitive pricing oriented downstream sector will require the collective engagement and resolve of all stakeholders.
“I assure you that MOMAN will continue to be at the forefront in bridging the government and the private sector in ensuring that Nigeria has a viable energy sector.
“We will continue to sustain the engagement and the creation of initiatives that will make the implementation of this law a shared success for all concerned parties,” he stressed.
Adeosun, CEO of Ardova Plc (formerly Forte Oil), said with the PIA, “a new era has begun and we will work hard to make certain that the benefits of the libralised downstream yields the desired effect for our business and the Nigerian economy.
“I believe that Nigeria can and will become the energy hub of Africa. MOMAN plays a very important role in achieving this vision in the downstream sector because no singular company makes a flourishing sector.”
