From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
As Nigerians groan under the scathing effects of adulterated petrol and protracted scarcity, a coalition of civil societies has totally absolved the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) of any culpability, but put the blame on oil marketers.
The coalition, comprising Nigeria First and 100 Pro-Buhari Support Group at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday urged the federal government to immediately sanction oil marketers for the ensuing chaos, which it described as economic sabotage.
Speaking at the event, the Convener of the Coalition, Richard Augustine said it was unfortunate that those responsible for this malaise (oil marketers) have succeeded in misleading unsuspecting members of the general public into believing that the NNPC was the importer of the toxic petrol that has brought untold hardship on the populace.
He said: “We wish to state that the importation of petroleum products into the country is a complex exercise that requires the inputs of numerous stakeholders, including the NNPC, oil and gas traders and marketers and others in the value chain.
“Therefore, the attempt to heap the blame on the doors of the NNPC is an attempt at being clever by half in the sense that there are specifications that have been established with regards to the quality and quantity of PMS to be imported into the county by the relevant authorities through the government’s direct sales and direct purchase vendors agreement. (DSDP)
“We must be mindful that the DSDP agreement is a type of swap whereby a certain amount of crude is exchanged in return for the equivalent amount of refined petroleum products. One of the criteria is that international companies must have a Nigerian affiliate or subsidiary or partnership with a Nigerian company engaged in downstream oil and gas business, particularly petroleum products trading.
“The implication is that importers of petroleum products into the country has left the realm of the NNPC to the international corporations and their Nigerian affiliates or partners. This has also ensured that the Nigerian affiliates or partners must guarantee the product quality and quantity.
“It is thus our considered opinion that if the above is the case, we consequently wonder how the NNPC can be seen as culpable when the Nigerian partners are responsible for liaising with their foreign partners in ensuring adherence to specifications suitable for the Nigerian market.
“We wish to state unequivocal terms that these Nigerian affiliates behind the importation and marketing of petroleum products in Nigeria have refused to admit their culpability and instead resorted to blaming the NNPC for reasons best known to them”, Augustine explained.
He added that the role of the NNPC is to deliver monthly crude oil lifting on a Free on Board (FOB) basis to the supplier who shall, in return, deliver petroleum products of Nigerian standard specification to NNPC on a Delivered at Place (DAP) basis, at designated safe port (s) in Nigeria, and the petroleum products to be delivered shall be equivalent in value to the Crude Oil received from NNPC subject to the general terms and conditions.
“It is thus an uncharitable endeavour for these companies to refuse to take full responsibility for breach of contract by importing petroleum products that fall short of Nigerian standards into the country.
“We are consequently tempted to believe that the companies involved in importing the adulterated petroleum products into the country must have willingly undertaken to compromise standards to maximize profit.
“This position is hinged on the fact that it is common knowledge that the NNPC has on numerous occasions raised the alarm on the nefarious activities of oil marketers in this regard. We are also aware that the NNPC has multiple checks to ensure adherence to stipulated terms and conditions in importing petroleum products into the country. But the greed and exploitative tendencies of petroleum product marketers are always at play and responsible for what is experienced in the country.
“Nigeria First wishes to absolve the NNPC of any blame in this regard. It has been established beyond reasonable doubt through extensive analysis of the petroleum importation regime in Nigeria under the current leadership of the NNPC under Mele Kyari, the entrenchment of accountability and transparency has been the watchword” he added.