In the sixties, seventies, and eighties, Nigerians used to have different grades of premium motor spirits called PMS, otherwise known as petrol. And each has its price. Depending on the grade And everything has its price and value. The higher the grade, the higher the price. But recently, the cabals used it as a means of siphoning the nation’s treasury by making sure all our refineries were not working at the same time.
What is wrong with our refineries?
This is the question that no one has been able to answer successfully. This refinery may be outdated, but it has not been utilized. The capacities per day of these refineries are not met yet; when was the refinery built? Calculate the total liters of the volume it has produced compared to the expected capacity it is meant to produce in the next 30 years. However, every year, billions of naira are stolen in the name of turn-around maintenance [TAM]. and allocations and monies are constantly allocated. Remember, crude allocations are allocated to this refinery monthly. Where does this crude oil go?
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MONTHLY REFINARY CRUDE?
Every refinery in Nigeria has a crude allocation. The day you build or establish a refinery and have a refinery license, you will be allocated crude. Now the question is, where is the crude allocated to Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries? Is this allocation stopped? or allocated? If allocated, where? And if it was sold, how much was it sold for, and to which account was the money paid?
NNPC USING MARKETERS’ MONIES TO TRADE
The marketers of PDOS across the country source funds through the banks to pay for products, right from when the ex-depot price of PMS was 148.17 naira. The product was not given to them; it was later increased to 172 naira. Those funds were mostly sourced from the bank. There are cases in the police station right now and courts of law in dispute regarding the money. Some sources are from a cooperative society. There have been monies paid to the NNPC for over one year, but the tickets have not been out yet. But the NNPC uses this money to trade and leaves those marketers in jeopardy. killing their businesses with the so-called unsustainability
They collect money for this same marketer to run their day-to-day activities by asking them to pay in advance.
Many marketers have died; many right now are out of business, with no plan for how to assist their businesses and no government effort on ease of doing business. All they do is change prices overnight and cause unnecessary hardship to these independent marketers who are trying to contribute their own quata to nation-building. As it is right now, many filling stations will close at dawn. And NNPC Retail Ltd. does not have enough stations to wet the nation in terms of outlets.
The government of President Bola Tinubu should, as a matter of urgency, wade into this matter. It is like killing the little business that sustains the marketers. The number of marketers out there is about 4500. And if 4500 marketers join the present unemployment rate in the country, it will be a disaster. And if these marketers put the law into their hands, it would affect the whole country. The new government should come to the aid of these marketers and let them still be in business.
