From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that Federal Government’s continued exchange of 445,000 barrels of crude daily for local refining will affect the federation account allocation to the three tiers of government.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja, the government’s spokesperson lamented the increasing rate of vandalism on oil pipelines, noting that government was losing 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Explaining government’s decision to hike fuel price, Alhaji Mohammed said that the 445,000 barrel of crude exchanged for local refining product called DSDP-Direct Sale Direct Purchase has its own disadvantages.
“Why we do not have an option is because the fuel regime before now was based on a process where some licensed oil marketers would go to the central bank and open letters of credit to bring in the fuel but unfortunately the price of crude which accounted for over 70 per cent of our fuel exchange crashed from over $100 to under $30. As a matter of fact for some part of this year we sold crude for $28.
“It’s just like somebody who had been earning N100,000 a month and suddenly his salary is reduced to N30,000 must needs to make some very painful adjustments. So, the truth of the matter is that we have to do this because there is shortage of foreign exchange. We don’t have sufficient foreign exchange to open letter of credit for anybody that wants to bring in fuel.
“Last month, I was informed that the total amount of foreign exchange available to Nigeria was $550 million and NNPC needed $500 million out of it. So, you can see why it’s not working.
“Since October last year, NNPC brought in 90 per cent of the petrol brought in till date because all the major and independent marketers have refused to bring in petrol. They said they had no access to foreign exchange and we can’t expect them to buy foreign exchange on the open market and sell 86.50.
“So NNPC had to step in not because it also had foreign exchange. What NNPC had been doing was to exchange the 445,000 barrel of crude allocated daily for local refining and it had engaged in a transparent process called DSDP-Direct Sale Direct Purchase. It now gives this 445,000 of crude a day and changes it for petrol to come to Nigeria but even that has its own disadvantages.
NCC gives directives against unsolicited messages
From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The Executive Vice Chairman/ CEO, Nigerian Communication (NCC), Umar Danbatta, said the commission has directed all mobile network operators to opt-in to ‘Do-Not-Disturb’ database to register their numbers against unsolicited messages.
Dabatta, who gave this directive at the 77th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) in Abuja, said the effective date for compliance would be at the end of June, while stating that there would be sanctions for noncompliance to the directive. He explained that three of his eight-point agenda would focus on consumer affairs, including improvement of Quality Of Service (QoS) by promoting availability of reliable, interoperable, rapidly, restorable critical information and communication technology infrastructure that are supportive of all required services.
To facilitate strategic collaboration and partnership with relevant stakeholders to foster ICT for sustainable economic development and social advancement, he said NCC also protects and empowers consumer from unfair practice through availability of information and education required to make informed choices in the use of ICT services.
According to the EVC, others are to facilitate broadband penetration, optimise usage and benefits of spectrum, promote ICT innovation and investment opportunities, promote fair competitions and inclusive growth and ensure regulatory excellence and operational efficiency designed for the ultimate benefit of the consumer.
Earlier in an address, Director Consumer Affairs Bureau NCC, Mr. Abdullahi Maikano, disclosed that over the years the telecom consumer parliament has become a veritable tool for alternative dispute, resolution mechanism which other regulatory agencies were adopting in solving consumer related issues.
He said the theme “Hearing the Voice of consumers” was chosen to feel the pulse of consumers regarding their perspective on telecom service delivery today and their expectations from network operators as well as regulator. The TCP is a forum designed by the NCC and specially dedicated for consumers of Telecom products and services.
“It is an occasion during which key telecom industry players meet and exchange ideas on salient issues affecting consumers of telecom services in the country”, he said.