NEWS
FG Does not Know Nigeria’s Daily Petrol Consumption- Sylva
By Joseph Amah, Abuja
The Federal Government has conceded that the country did not know and cannot tell the exact volume of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, which it consumes on a daily basis.
It stated this just as oil marketers explained that Nigeria’s inability to give a definite figure on the quantity of petrol it consumes daily was due to the continued smuggling of PMS out of the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had also agreed that Nigeria could not tell the exact amount of petrol consumed across the country daily.
He disclosed this in an interview with his media team, led by his Senior Adviser, Media and Communications, Horatius Egua, which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Friday.
Asked to react to the N3trillion fuel subsidy proposal by NNPC, amid concerns about the country’s PMS consumption figure, Sylva replied, “I would have preferred that this question be directed to the NNPC.“I have made my views known about this issue in the past.NNPC has agreed with me that they are not certain about the exact consumption figure.”He said the truth was that if the country’s petroleum products were smuggled outside the country, nobody could say what volume was involved today, tomorrow or next week, adding that NNPC could not say they know these figures.“It’s more or less fueling a criminal economy. The NNPC imports the products, and nobody knows the exact destination of the products at the end of the day,” Sylva stated.
He added, “The imported products come to Nigeria, and from there filters out of our borders to neighbouring countries.“So, as a country, we cannot tell the exact volume of petroleum products that we consume on a daily basis. All we have been doing is to assume the level of consumption over a period and work with that.”He, however, expressed belief that the NNPC probably had a better answer to this, stressing that “personally, I dont.“I have said this publicly before that I don’t know the figure. When I assumed office, initially I was told that our daily consumption was 66 million litres.“Then, when fuel prices increased from N145 to N162, the consumption figure temporarily fell to about 40 something million litres per day, because the arbitrage opportunity reduced,” Sylva stated.
He added, “Then the value of the naira dropped again, and the number went up again to over 60 million litres. I am told the figure sometimes rise to as high as 90 or over 100 million litres. I don’t know how that happens.“At this rate, I have said if anyone is looking at a criminal enterprise, look no further than the fuel subsidy.”This, the minister said, was why he had continued to advocate the removal of fuel subsidy from the country’s PMS pricing template and deregulate.
He said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had done everything to resolve the issue, including the closure of the country’s borders with neighbouring countries, yet the criminality was not stopped.“The truth is that what the President could do was to close the ‘formal’ borders. What about the illegal routes?,” Sylva asked.
On what could be done, the minister said if the subsidy component was taken out through deregulation, smuggling of PMS to neighbouring nations would cease.“Of course, we need the market from there. But now we are punishing ourselves because every litre we import at our expense will always find its way outside the country,” he stated.
He added, “Now, the government is trying to subsidise our citizens so that our people will at least get the benefit of the subsidy on petroleum products.“But, now because of how our borders are, it is very difficult. Now, we are inadvertently subsidising the whole of Africa. This is the thing we cannot handle.”Also speaking on the matter, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, Clement Isong, told our correspondent that the cheap fuel in the country had remained an incentive to smugglers.
He said, “The higher the price (of petrol) is outside the country and you see prices where they are in the country, the natural response is that normal people such as farmers, okada drivers, transporters, etc, will leave their jobs to go and sell petrol.“This is because of the mark-up. This is why, particularly in Abuja, you see many people carrying jerrycans of fuel selling them on major roads. This also plays along our borders.“For as long as the international price continues to rise and we keep our own prices where they are, what will happen is that those countries will suck the products out of Nigeria and you simply will not find the product in Nigeria.”Isong added, “If you go to those countries, the marketers there will tell you that they are unable to sell because of the product coming from Nigeria is killing their market. This happens in all the countries around Nigeria.”He stated that the normal supply chain volumes would continue to go down because the products were leaving Nigeria, describing those smuggling out PMS as ordinary everyday citizens.“This is because they simply make more money buying from here at N162-N165/litre and going across the border to sell at N500/litre. It is more money for them and it is simply the law of economics, called arbitrage, which is a market distortion,” Isong stated.
He added, “And it is what the subsidy on petrol does on Nigeria, a market distortion. Something is worth N500 and you’re selling at N200. Now where you’re supposed to find it at N200 you will not see it because it has moved to where the actual value of N500 is.“This can also contribute to the scarcity we see in parts of Nigeria. That is why NNPC if it is meant to normally supply 60 million litres per day, for it to keep queues out of filling stations, it will have to increase its supply to 90 to 100 million litres. That’s the problem.”The MOMAN official said Nigeria must wean itself of fuel subsidy, “because we are killing both our present and future.“We simply cannot afford it. We are borrowing money for it.”
Some Economic Experts on Thursday urged the speedy intervention of the Federal Government following the hike in the Pump Price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the NNPC Ltd..
Checks by our correspondent showed that barely three weeks after increasing the pump price, the NNPC Retail Outlets in the FCT on Tuesday increased its fuel pump price again to N1,060 per litre as against N1,030.
our checks also revealed that most filling stations operated by the major marketers retained their old prices.
TotalEnergies and Cornoil fuel stations opposite the NNPC Ltd. Towers still sell at N1,109, Ardova Plc. and NIPCO sell at N1,125 and N1,150 respectively, while Kopdem Nig Ltd.
sell at N1,170 without queues.An oil and gas expert who spoke under annonymity, said the change by the NNPC Ltd. while other marketers maintained their former prices signified that the NNPC Ltd. was trying to catch up with the existing price.
The expert urged the Federal Government to hasten intervention measures towards assisting common Nigerians to convert their vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to alleviate the suffering being experienced due to high price of fuel.
Also speaking with newsmen, Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu expressed worry over the adjustment of pump price, the third time in two months, adding that the increase in price was an additional stress to the hardship being experienced currently.
“We cannot over emphasise the impact these constant increases are having on the hardship being experienced by Nigerians currently.
“Disposable incomes have continued to be eroded, and the quality and standard of living are at their lowest ebb.
“I expect an urgent intervention in this regard to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians,” he said.
Another expert, Mr Yushau Aliyu who decried inflation said the NNPC Ltd. would continue to adjust pump prices upward unless the domestic functional refineries registered their supply strategy.
“The NNPC Ltd. are bent on using inferior price models grossly influenced and guided by poor exchange rates regime and devastating inflationary measures,” he said. (NAN)
Dr Mutiu Oladele-Bukola, Veterinary Doctor at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Obafemi Awolowo University, Moore Plantation, Ibadan, has called on governments to institute laws guiding abattoir operations.
Oladele-Bukola made the call in an interview on Thursday in Ibadan.
He said that governments should also enforce absolute compliance to the law for a standard operation by the abattoirs.
He said that the waste management practices in many Nigerian slaughter houses were poor, posing public health and environmental hazards to inhabitants.
According to him, open dump waste disposal and direct disposal of effluents into water bodies are still common practices in many abattoirs.
“These practices expose inhabitants and neighbouring communities to pathogens, with great risks to public health.
“Bacteria and fungi break down these organic materials to produce biomass leading to cellular multiplication.
“Most abattoir effluents are channeled to surrounding water bodies, causing water pollution.
“Many communities in Nigeria get their drinking water directly from rivers and streams that receive these effluents from abattoirs,” he said.
The veterinarian added that these water bodies also served as sources of water for farming activities, exposing plants and animals to pathogenic microbes.
“Polluted animals can lead to food-borne diseases, which could be life-threatening, especially in immune-compromised individuals,” he said.
Oladele-Bukola emphasised the need for improved sanitary conditions and optimal waste management in abattoirs across Nigeria.
He advocated a robust and holistic review of the policies and legislative framework guiding abattoir activities and management in the country.
“Efforts must be made to expedite the passage, and enforcement of the Meat Inspection and Hygiene Act, currently before the National Assembly.
“The said Act should also be reviewed to accommodate expert views on contemporary methods of waste management.
“New policies should reflect and enforce modern standards of waste treatment and disposal in line with global best practices.
“The traditional practice of floor slaughter and carcass dressing should be replaced with the rail system which ensures minimal carcass contamination,” he added.
Oladele-Bukola equally called for improved technology for waste treatment and energy conversion.
He stressed the importance of training for veterinary officers, butchers and abattoir staff for an acceptable level of hygiene and waste management.
“To attract individuals with a good level of formal education to the sector, government and major players must make abattoir jobs socially and economically appealing.
“Proper implementation of waste management systems, education of abattoir workers and enforcement of regulations and compliance to international standards, would contribute to the promotion of both public and planetary health,” Oladele-Bukola said. (NAN)
The Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, has approved the appointment of Mr Kingsley Igwe as Registrar of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
Mr Ismail Omipidan, the ministers spokesman, said this in Statement to newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.
Oyetola said the appointment was part of efforts to reposition CRFFN for better efficiency and management.
He said that Igwe, who was also the National Secretary, National Association Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), took over from the acting Registrar, Mrs Chinyere Uronta.
The appointment was announced in a letter signed on behalf of the Minister by the Director, Maritime Services, Mr Babatunde Sule.
Oyetola said that his appointment was in accordance with the relevant provisions of CRFFN Act 2007 for a duration of four years in the first instance.
He said that Igwe, from Imo State, had Master’s degree in Transportation and also an active member of the CRFFN.
The Minister stated that the appointment was with immediate effect.
Report says that in August 2024, Igwe was the best performing participant at a CRFFN training supervised by the Minister in Lagos.
It would be recalled that the Council had been enmeshed in crisis of confidence and insolvency, leading to its inability to pay salaries since January 2024.
However, Oyetola has stepped in to arrange a bailout loan for the payment of salaries till August. (NAN)
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