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From Uche Usim, Abuja
To ameliorate Nigerians’ suffering over the protracted petrol scarcity, the Executive Chairman of Skymark Energy and Power Limited, Alhaji Muhammad Saleh Hassan, has called on the Federal Government to deploy the services of relevant security agencies and government authorities to crackdown and prosecute black marketers whose activities, he stressed, have worsened the crisis.
He also noted that their operations were tantamount to sabotaging the efforts of the Petroleum Ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited in proffering solution to the quagmire.
Hassan, who stated this in Abuja at the weekend, on the sidelines of the just concluded Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022), also assured that the Petroleum Ministry and the NNPC authorities had taken all necessary steps to ensure efficient distribution of petrol nationwide, adding that very soon, the long queues at fuel stations disappear.
He said: “The criminality between independent marketers and black marketers, which is aggravating the fuel crisis, has become a serious menace. It has become imperative for anti-corruption agencies to crackdown on them because the situation is getting out of the hands of the NNPC which does not have police or military to crack down on them because that is not part of their responsibility,” he said.
He, however, expressed optimism that the crisis and the accompanying hardship would soon end because the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, were doing their best to address the challenges.
He hailed Sylva and Kyari for quickly mopping up the imported toxic petrol, which sparked fuel scarcity and the ongoing crisis.
“We need to give kudos to Mr Mele Kyari for his proactive measures in addressing the fuel crisis promptly. He rose to the occasion by ensuring that the fuel did not circulate much in the country to destroy people’s vehicles. This shows responsibility and transparency in the position of leadership on his part,” Hassan said.
Hassan who also lauded Buhari for not removing oil subsidy said the decision was due to his concern for the masses.
He, however, pointed out that it had become imperative to remove the subsidy due to the rise in price of crude oil globally which Nigeria would benefit from economically.
Hassan expressed a glimmer of hope that Nigeria would be able to cope if subsidy was removed “since the president has put heads together with the NNPC GMD and Minister of State for Petroleum to put Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in place as an alternative source of energy so that people that can not afford petrol could go for CNG which is cheaper than PMS (petrol).”
“The reality is that Nigeria must be ready to accept oil subsidy removal. It is now more significant than ever because the prices of oil and gas have increased all over the world. If Nigeria removes the subsidy, she would also begin to benefit from the increased price. Though I am not advocating removal of subsidy, I believe strongly that if it is removed, it is for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he stressed.
He added: The landing price is about N300 and it is being sold at an official price of N165. In a few days the landing cost might rise to N500 or more because it is close to N400 now. If the subsidy is removed, people can still cope because there will be CNG as the alternative which is even cheaper and more affordable than the PMS”, he said.
