Chief Philip Asiodu, former Secretary for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, has listed corruption and political interference as two major reasons why Nigeria cannot operate efficient, functional refineries.
Asiodu, who served during the shortlived Interim National Government from 1992 to 1993, made the statement at the Nigerian Lubricants Summit on Tuesday in Lagos.
Asiodu described the development as a national shame, noting that Nigeria with all its manpower could not maintain and operate refineries properly.
“We have to rely on imports of the bulk of petroleum products to consume locally.
“The simple reason for this situation is corruption and political interference in the management of the refineries and the selection and deployment of personnel in NNPC,’’ he said.
On the transportation of petroleum products, Asiodu said there was no reason for transportation of the products by road.
“There is no reason why petrol tankers will be allowed to be transported from one point to another by road with its attendant risks.
“Road tankers’ journeys can be restricted to a radius of not more than 100 kilometers from the depots, and to operate during safer hours at night,’’ he stated.
Asiodu said the national policy on oil products should override any resistance or obstruction from vested interests in the industry.
“It is not difficult to show with clearly set out data how wasteful, unproductive and distorting the present policy on pricing of premium motor spirit and the management of petroleum subsidy are.
“The present price regime encourages wholesale trafficking along Nigeria’s borders and even fraudulent diversion of products.
“Probably, it results in our subsidising without acknowledgement, products consumed by our neighbours up to 100,000 barrels a day or 25 percent of our total imports.
“It is difficult to see published agreed cost of PMS subsidies. Estimated costs are in the range of N1.3 billion to N1.6 billion a day,’’ he said.
The Chairman, Lubcon International Group, Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, said that he spent over N160 billion to import base oil from foreign countries.
Ibrahim regretted that since 1995 when the Kaduna Refinery stopped producing base oil due to lack of maintenance, the country had resorted to importing.
He said that this was the right time for the country to start producing base oil to save the huge amount being spent on importing the product.
The Principal Partner, Lube Services Associates, Mr Kayode Sote, said that the objective of the summit was to promote the investment profiles of local lube manufacturers.
Sote said that the summit would expose their technical competence as premium grades that met and even exceeded the performance level.
The Chief Executive Officer of CMC Connect, Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, said the summit would be used to exhibit and showcase the diverse lube range.
Badejo-Okusanya said that the total installed capacities of lube plants in Nigeria, currently operating at about 40 percent, could meet local consumption with potential to export to earn foreign exchange for the country.
The theme of the summit was “Quality Lubricants: Key to Techno-Economic and Industrial Development of Nigeria’’.
-NAN