•Elect new officers
By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPGAR) Retailers Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural gas Workers(NUPENG) has raised the alarm over the influx substandard cylinders and Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), popularly called cooking gas with high propane content in circulation.
Immediate past Chairman of LPGAR NUPENG Branch, Mr. Chika Umudu, stated this in his address at the 3rd Quadrennial Delegates Conference with the theme “Priortising Safety In LPG Retailing” held in Lagos at the weekend.
LPGAR however called on the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to arrest the increasing circulation of high propane LPG in the market which it said, is very dangerous to the operators and consumers.
On substandard cylinders, LPGAR lamented that SON appears not to have a clear understanding on what is happening in the industry in terms of the standard of cylinders, accessories and equipment in circulation.
‘‘Let us assume that the substandard cylinders being imported mainly from China is a temporary measure to fill the existing vacuum; what is the long-term plan to ensure that only standard cylinders are imported and these substandard cylinders withdrawn in no distant future?
Again, why can’t we have these cylinders and accessories produced locally as was the case in the 1980s and 1990s? Why can’t these multinationals who are scrambling for retail spaces with retailers on the street be told that it is their duty to produce cylinders and other necessary LPG materials?
It is important to note that the ‘China cylinders’ hardly withstand exposure to Nigerian weather conditions for one year. It is a time bomb as millions of low-income earners in particular are oblivious of the monsters they are living with. Our hope was raised when Techno Oil started producing cylinders in Nigeria but shortly it disappeared from circulation. Perhaps what happened to its predecessors in the 1990s has happened to it.
Again, I want to appeal to SON to stop confiscating the second-hand ‘Tokunboh’ cylinders mostly imported from the United Kingdom. Those cylinders are actually a blessing in disguise to Nigerians. I know the law prohibits importation and use of second-hand cylinders but the same law did not create better alternatives. Therefore, SON should apply discretion in this regard. As I advised NMDPRA, I am also advising SON to adopt some measure of informal approach to its regulation of cylinders, accessories and equipment. Nigeria is a developing country. Applying regulatory patterns used in the advanced countries cannot work,’’ he warned.
The former Chairman also called the attention of retailers to the importance of safety in the LPG distribution value chain, saying the role of regulatory agencies are not only statutory but also indispensable.
He maintained that a well-regulated retail system will enhance the profitability of businesses, improved safety while doing business while neighbours and customers (the end-users) will also be safe. Umudu called on the regulatory agencies to see the branch union as a critical partner in the process of policy making and implementation.
‘‘For more than 15 years, our leadership has been urging the old Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR) now NMDPRA to adopt some informal approach to enhance the regulation of ‘Category D’ retailers to no avail. A few attempts to heed to our advice were abandoned before the take-off.
I have always said that the best way of making and implementing laws successfully is to first and foremost understand the environment where the law is to be implemented.
If you sit in Asokoro, Abuja or Victoria Island, Lagos to make policies that would impact all, then when you get to Nyanya, Abuja or Agege, Lagos for implementation, the policy may likely collapse or at best malfunction.
Often times, our loyal members suffer the effects of the pattern of regulation currently in use by the regulatory agencies. In the past, the leadership of the branch union had consistently ensured that our loyal members comply with regulatory requirements. While they comply, non-members and some recalcitrant members won’t make any attempt to comply.
This system provides incentives to nonmembers who boast that joining the union is tantamount to exposure to regulatory agencies. This situation has led to loss of members for the branch union. It has been a big strain on the union. This is applicable to almost all regulatory agencies both at the federal and state levels,’’.