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Uche Usim, Abuja
The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) has called for a complete deregulation of the oil and gas sector as a panacea to the unending petrol scarcity imbroglio and controversial subsidy payouts which gulps trillions of naira annually.
The association said deregulation of the sector will naturally enthrone price stability and scrub off the opacity and tardiness in the current subsidy payment arrangement, which has also woefully failed to tackle periodic products scarcity nationwide.
The National President of NOGASA, Benneth Korie who stated this at the inauguration of Lagos Zonal chapter of the association recently in Lagos said it was worrisome that citizens of an oil producing country would be made to suffer products scarcity.
According to him, the government, while removing fuel subsidy should look inwards to establish ways of assisting both marketers, distributors and end users through the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF).
He said, “When subsidy is removed, people will sit up and prices will go down on their own. If you leave the government alone to be doing all these things, the prices will continue to fluctuate, but the government must be willing to help the masses through effective implementation of equalization function of PEF to achieve the uniform pricing of petroleum products”.
He assured Nigerians that the group will ensure the continuous and effective supply and distribution of gas in the country and guard against product scarcity nationwide.
He explained that in the event of possible threat of gas supply at any time in the country, its members will be willing to assist to curb the effect as they know what to do at such times to ensure effective distribution of the product.
Korie pointed out that when NOGASA is fully in operation, the group will equally resolve the bottlenecks around marketing of gas products in the country.
