Charles Nwaoguji
The Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN) has rejected arbitrary increase of base oil import from N0.10Kobo to N1.23Kobo per litre by Petroleum Product Pricing Agency (PPPRA).
According to the Executive Secretary of the Association, Mr. Emeka Obidike, over time the Association has been besieged by complaints from operators of being tasked with the payment of dues, charges, levies and/or compelled to register with Agencies irrelevant to their operations or the sector as a whole.
He said operators on the verge of having their consignments confiscated, often find themselves acceding to their demands and further being inundated by a deluge of paperwork, draconian directives, bureaucratic protocols, all culminating in the delayed release of consignments, accrual of unwarranted demurrage, other ancillary expenses and the eventual hike in price of blended lubricants.
In statement made available to Daily Sun, Obidike said the Association has written to the PPPRA protesting this state of affairs and categorically stating that the Petroleum Act, the Department of Petroleum Resources is the primary regulator of the petroleum sector, overseeing activities that relate to production, importation and exportation of petroleum products and indeed all affairs relating to the oil and gas industry (upstream, midstream and downstream) and that the PPPRA’s continued refusal to acknowledge this fact could be construed as a blatant disregard, duplications and encroachment on the authority and jurisdiction of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), adding that the association has written similarly to the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo to call PPPRA to order.
He explained that base oil is a raw material that undergoes further value addition, unlike other white products; 100 per cent import-dependent, likewise the additives applied, which risk is solely borne by the importer; attracts duty of 5 per cent, and is not subject to regulation as its pricing is subject to market forces. “There is also a patent lack of government intervention (Subsidy) and unaccommodating policies.”