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DPR and kerosene price(Nigerian Tribune Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) IT cannot be a moot question that wilful mismanagement of available resources has brought about the unenviable situation in which basic necessities that are taken for granted elsewhere, are acutely in short supply in Nigeria. The worrisome aspect is that the problem has remained intractable in spite of the multitude of agencies put in place to ensure efficient performance and sanction errant organisations and individuals. The oil sector which is the country's economic mainstay exemplifies the rot in the entire system. The same oil that has brought about a dramatic turnaround in the quality of life in other climes has been making life increasingly difficult for the majority of Nigerians who have been bearing the brunt of the deep-rooted corruption in the industry. The Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. George Osahon, was recently reported as saying that marketers selling kerosene above the official price of N50.00 per litre would be sanctioned. He was said to have condemned the practice of some retail outlets that had been tampering with their pump metres and cheating customers in defiance of previous warnings. He was quoted as saying that the failure of many companies to monitor the activities of their stations had created the room for them to perpetrate fraudulent acts. It is interesting that the DPR has again woken up from its slumber to issue a warning to marketers to desist from selling kerosene above the regulated price of N50.00. It will be nothing but self-delusion for the DPR to expect to be taken seriously by Nigerians who have been paying between N120.00 and N150.00 for a litre of kerosene. The occasional make-believe of sealing up filling stations for one infringement or the other has lost meaning to the people. It has for long become apparent to Nigerians that the exercise is a periodic media event intended to convey the impression that something is happening, where actually nothing is taking place. It is only at the mega stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that kerosene, when available, is sold at the official price and the supply always gets exhausted at a speed that defies comprehension. It cannot be a hidden fact to the DPR that both the major and independent marketers have been selling the product for more than double the regulated price. They must all be laughing off the threat by the DPR. While subsidy on petroleum products is a source of unearned and stupendous wealth for a small number, its 'withdrawal' by the government has, each time, contributed in no small measure to the economic adversity of the hoi polloi. In spite of persistent hue and cry, the corruption in the management of fuel subsidy remains a major drain on Nigeria's economy. A substantial percentage of the huge amounts of money being budgeted for it on annual basis has been ending up in the pockets of a handful of individuals while the government appears helpless about the entire situation. Even when the ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives identified certain individuals and corporate bodies involved in subsidy fraud, the government could not muster the will to take appropriate action against them. This is why the oil industry has become a cesspit of corruption plagued by incompetence and fraud at all levels of its operation. The only transparent feature is its lack of transparency. The long expected change for the better has become a forlorn hope. The continued reliance on importation to meet domestic needs has been providing the avenue for fraudulent practices on a monumental scale. In spite of Nigeria's status as the largest producer and exporter of crude oil in Africa, it lags behind Egypt, Algeria, Libya and South Africa in refining capacity. The situation in Nigeria is aggravated by the fact that the utilisation of its grossly inadequate refining capacity is ridiculously low. According to the latest monthly report of the NNPC, Nigeria's four refineries operated at an average of 10.46 per cent of their nameplate capacity of 44,500 barrels per day in June. In a world in which even countries that do not produce oil have found it economically rational to build their own refineries, Nigeria remains a global irony as a country that imports what it has. The more Nigeria relies on importation to meet its domestic requirements of refined petroleum including kerosene, the more subsidy management will remain an intractable problem. It has become a glaring fact that there is a network of fraudsters that cuts across the entire process. It is painful and unfortunate that the government that lacks the will to bring the culprits to justice has always been passing the burden to the ordinary people by increasing the price of fuel. If the DPR has been an effective check, cheating consumers at the various outlets would not have become a way of life. |