By Jude Opara, Abuja
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ostia Okechukwu has commended the trio of the Independent Petroleum Markers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Dangote Refinery and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for agreeing to collaborate on the lifting of petroleum products from Dangote.
Okechukwu in a statement on Sunday also called for fuel pump price reduction to allow Nigerians breathe.
The former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) further explained that his request is not reversal of President Tinubu’s position that subsidy is gone; but for Nigerians to benefit from the Naira Template transaction without opaque dollar cost of importation.
According to him, his commendation is anchored on the truism that the IPMAN, Dangote and NNPCL collaboration if given the nudge will definitely crash fuel pump price, enhance availability of products and save billions of dollars.
He appealed to President Tinubu that now that NNPCL, IPMAN and Dangote are working together on Naira template and the importation cost knocked off; as substantive Minister of Petroleum he should as a matter of urgent national importance single out PMS and reduce fuel pump price, crash food prices and let Nigerians breathe and make up from diesel, fuel oil etc.
He maintained that reduction in fuel pump price is not subsidy removal as the opaque cost of importation has been the major issue which even Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala lamented on as Minister of Finance.
Okechukwu also expressed relief that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said there is no sabotage of local refineries by the company; though belatedly it is a new vista that NNPCL is committed to resolving Nigeria’s energy dilemma, security, sustainable growth and energy affordability.
He submitted that this puts an end to IPMAN’s previous plan to engage in the importation of refined petroleum products, which gulps humongous revenue because of cost of freight, insurance and sundry.
