THE House of Representatives has referred a motion to allow other petroleum marketers to lift premium motor spirit directly from the Dangote Refinery to a joint national assembly ad hoc committee.
Raised by a motion by Honourable Oboku Oforji, who argued that the coming on board of the Dangote Refinery, points Nigeria in the direction of self-sufficiency of PMS.
The lawmaker described the insistence of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to be the sole lifter of PMS from Dangote Refinery as greed after it had failed to maintain the nation’s refineries.
Oforji said that allowing the NNPCL and major marketers to lift fuel from the refinery to the exclusion of independent marketers was not good enough.
He said that representatives of independent marketers under the aegis of IPMAN had expressed fear that members may be forced to resort to fuel imports to sustain their businesses.
He hailed the Dangote Group for commencing the refining of petroleum products, adding that with the feat, the journey to Nigeria’s energy self-sufficiency might have begun.
According to him, Nigeria is now driving towards energy self-sufficiency, cost savings, and foreign exchange savings, meeting the increasing demand for fuel and attracting foreign capital investment.
“The generation of foreign exchange through the export of finished products, conservation of foreign exchange, and huge value addition will contribute to an increase in Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
“With the high demand of fuel by Nigerians, NNPCL should allow independent marketers to lift the product from the Dangote refinery.
“If the prevailing monopoly is not nipped in the bud, the suffering of Nigerians occasioned by the scarcity of fuel will continue with disastrous consequences,” he said.
Adopting the motion, the House urged the management of Dangote Refinery to build, acquire, or partner with stakeholders to establish depots across the geopolitical zones in the country.
