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Senate Summons PPPRA, PPMC Over Import Allocation Criteria
(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Worried by revelations that many oil marketing companies without storage tanks, fuel stations and trucks got allocations to import fuel, the Senate Joint Committee investigating the management of fuel subsidy yesterday summoned officials of the Petroleum Products and Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to explain the allocation criteria.
This followed the revelation by the Managing Director of Capital Oil, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, that the PPPRA was adopting discriminatory measures in the allocation of petroleum products importation.
He regretted that while portfolio carrying businessmen and women who have neither tank farms nor retail outlets were among the biggest beneficiaries of fuel subsidy largess, some of them with all the facilities were denied participation.
The Capital Oil boss further told the Sen. Magnus Abe led panel that it took the intervention of the House of Representatives to compel the PPPRA to include his company in the list of marketers to participate in the fuel subsidy regime and even at that very, little was awarded to him.
The joint committee also summoned the Managing Director of Oando Plc, saying "the Managing Director should do everything to be here next week" and the invitation may not be unconnected with the diversion of kerosene to aviation industry.
A letter signed by the MD of Oando, Wale Tinubu on behalf of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) alleging the diversion of kerosene to aviation was read by Abe but officials of Total Plc who appeared before the committee could not defend the contents of the letter.
Also invited, were the managing directors of Keystone Bank (formerly Bank PHB) and Union Bank.
Three oil companies, Lumen Skies; Majope and Duport Marine Limited all admitted before the committee that they had no outlet stations, trucks or storage stations but got allocations from the PPPRA.
Managing Director of Duport Marine Tosin Odusanya who admitted before the committee that his company was paid N3.5 billion in 2011 alone said "we don't retain, we sell ship load".
The committee could however not get satisfactory answers from officials of Total Plc and Capital Oil while major marketers got less allocation despite their infrastructure and facilities than marketers without outstations and trucks.
Copyright This Day. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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