The Home of Representatives, on Tuesday, constituted a particular Joint Investigative Committee of the Downstream and Midstream Petroleum Assets to right away embark on a deep rooted forensic investigative listening to and stakeholders engagement in the direction of discovering an enduring answer to the problems and challenges affecting and deliberate killing of the Nigerian downstream and midstream petroleum sector.
The problems to be probed and seemed into vary from subsidy funds, PFI/depot sharp practices, non-availability of home crude provide to native refineries, killing of native refineries, gasoline queues, excessive price of PMS, supply of funding of PMS subsidy, limitless shifting of timelines for refinery rehabilitation, nefarious actions on the petrol depots, standing of all downstream pipelines and depot tasks, indiscriminate issuance of licenses, OVH and NNPCL Retail product anomalies and lack of product to entrepreneurs, use of center males in crude gross sales to refinery, non-domestication of revenue from sale of crude oil by IOCs, amongst others.
The Home unanimously mandated Ideato Consultant, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, who doubles because the Chairman of Home Committee on Petroleum Downstream Sector to guide the joint investigative committee of the downstream and midstream petroleum assets committee to unearth all of the anomalies militating in opposition to the Downstream Midstream Sector.
The decision adopted the adption of a movement on matter of pressing significance, which was sponsored by Hon. Billy Osawaru, and Hon. Philip Agbese, who’s the Deputy Spokesman of the Home of Representatives.
Shifting the movement, Osawaru famous that the Nationwide Meeting is saddled with the duty of creating legal guidelines for the peace, order and good governance of the Federation or any half thereof as enshrined in Part 4(2) of the Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended).
He mentioned the Home was conscious that in current instances there was a resurgence of gasoline queues in petrol stations, with allegations of excessive price of PMS and non-availability of gasoline inventory for downstream home refineries in Nigeria and disruption of distribution of PMS merchandise.
He expressed issues in regards to the failure of the regulators equivalent to NMDPRA, NUPRC, and so forth to implement compliance with requirements that can assist obtain the expansion of downstream sector and the shortage of help to native crude refiners, issuance of import licence regardless of native manufacturing
He mentioned, “knowledgeable that there’s additionally allegation of unfair subsidization of PMS and different petroleum merchandise which negatively impacts competitiveness within the sector. There are additionally allegations of racketeering and favouritism within the Professional Forma Bill System (PFI) regime, indiscriminate issuance of licenses and importation of refined petroleum merchandise.
“Additional Knowledgeable of the alleged return of PMS value intervention with its impression on home market, there’s additionally the allegation of product unavailability to entrepreneurs from NNPC Retail. Limitless shifting of timelines for refinery rehabilitation, the nefarious actions at petrol depot which have affected product distribution and triggered shortage. There’s additionally the usage of middlemen in buying and selling and has negatively affected home crude provide.
“Disturbed in regards to the indiscriminate issuance of licenses, the unavailability of laboratories to test adulterated merchandise and the inflow of adulterated merchandise into the nation, allegation of non domestication of income realized from crude advertising gross sales in native banks, abuse of the PFI regime, importation of merchandise already being produced in Nigeria like jet gasoline, AGO, and so forth, use of worldwide buying and selling firms to resell gasoline inventory to native refineries, and all points surrounding subsidy regime.
“Additionally disturbed in regards to the allegation of the return of subsidy on downstream PMS merchandise, unclarity in regards to the actual touchdown price of PMS, discount in retail value and its impression on downstream operations, allegation of importation of substandard merchandise and high-sulphur diesel into Nigeria, sale of petroleum merchandise under honest market worth and its impression on downstream and native refineries and because the supply of funds for such interventions.”
