The Department of State Services, DSS, may
have taken over the job of monitoring
downstream petroleum distribution and
marketing, as part of the President Muhamadu
Buhari’s measures to stem the high level of
corruption in subsidy claims.
Consequently, retail outlets found selling any
petroleum product above the prescribed
government price will be immediately shut
down, while any depot selling above the ex-
depot price will have to forfeit the subsidy
claims on the cargo that brought in the
product.
The move followed the apparent inability of
the industry regulators, the Department of
Petroleum Resources, DPR, and the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA,
whose officials were apparently overwhelmed
by the supply shortages to check sharp
practices and market excesses among the
operators. Consequently, the DPR has scheduled another
impromptu closed door meeting with
marketers and other industry stakeholders
today (Wednesday) at its Headquarters in
Lagos, to update them on the new
development.
Confirming the development yesterday, a top
industry source who also attended the
meeting told Vanguard in a telephone
interview that the decision was made known
to stakeholders at a closed door meeting
which held in Abuja on Monday.
The source, who spoke in confidence said:
“DSS will lead the operations (monitoring),
and marketers were also asked to monitor
each other and to report any sharp practices.
“Government decided that enough was enough
and will no longer condone any sharp
practices in the system.”
The source, disclosed that the meeting was at
the instance of the Federal Government, and
had in attendance the representatives of the
DSS, DPR, PPPRA, Major and independent
marketers, depot operators and a host of other
industry operators.
The source added that attendants sat for long
hours deliberating on the best way to arrest
the unofficial price hike of petroleum products
in the market, occasioned by supply shortages
following the inability of the government to
pay markets outstanding subsidy claims of
over N200billion.
Sudden hike in price
The source was responding to Vanguard’s
enquiries on the cause of the sudden
unofficial hike of both the pump price and ex-
depot price of premium motor spirit, PMS,
popularly called petrol and kerosene, and the
helplessness of the industry regulators to
arrest the situation.
Since the supply shortages set in some
months ago, marketers and depot operators
took the initiative to hike pump and ex-depot
prices to reap enormous profit while waiting
for government to pay off their outstanding
claims.
As a result, practically every retail outlet sold
petrol at above the prescribed N87/Litre, to
peg price at between N100 and N150/Litre
depending on the outlet and location.
Similarly, rather than the prescribed N81/litre
ex-depot price, marketers accused the depot
operators of selling at N96/litre instead,
which they claimed forced them to also hike
pump price.
He said: “Such practices will no longer be
condoned especially with the involvement of
the DSS, who will use their intelligence
network to get to the root of the matter.
“The meeting decided that all marketers must
sell at the regulated price of N87/litre of
petrol. And anyone found to be selling above
this, the DSS will track the outlet to the depot
where the product was lifted.
“If it was discovered that the pump price
increase is as a result of hike in ex-depot
price, then both the outlet and the depot will
be sanctioned.
“Originally, it was agreed that both the outlet
and the depot will be shut down, but after
considering the situation, if was agreed that
the depot will not be shut down in order not to
exacerbate the supply situation.
“However, the depot operator will be made to
forfeit his subsidy claims on that cargo, as it
will be assumed that he has reimbursed
himself through the ex-depot price hike.”
“We are meeting with DPR again tomorrow
(today) on the same matter for them to tell
everybody what is happening and the need for
all to ensure compliance,” the source added.
DPR meets with stakeholders
Expressing shock at the takeover of parts of
its functions by the DSS, a top management
official of the DPR confirmed the upcoming
meeting with stakeholders in Lagos today.
The official, who also spoke in confidence in a
telephone interview told Vanguard: “The
Downstream Unit only informed us about the
meeting holding tomorrow at about 4p.m.
today.”
He expressed shock that the Unit did not give
them full disclosures on the reasons for the
impromptu meeting saying: “It is sad that
everybody now do territorial claim when the
whole roof is caving in. if there are new
developments we should know firsthand and
not from a third party.”
Agreeing that the DPR was overwhelmed by
the sharp practices in the industry, he asked:
“How can we effectively monitor a situation
where the marketer shows us technical proof
about the depots selling above the ex-depot
price, and the depot operators in turn show
prove at selling under the regulated price?
“We heard their accusations back and forth,
and decided to hold an impromptu meeting
with them in Lagos a few weeks ago, which
was also reported by your paper. Since it was
an open meeting, we expected the parties to
openly make their allegations. But nobody did.
So how can we hold anybody responsible?”
He, however said that the involvement of the
DSS was a welcome development as long as it
will bring sanity to the system, seeing that
DPR lacked the capacity to fully monitor
downstream operations. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/breaking-news-pump-price-hike-dss-takes-over-dpr-monitoring-job/

ok

INTROVERT:
ok

na wa ooo..na robot you be?

Good. Now we have a functional and responsive government.
The fraudulent practices of these oil marketers are unbearable. Ranging from irregular hike in product prices, hoarding and under-dispensing of products.

Buhari should adopt the Georgian approach
Simply give all the irredeemable agencies the pink slip . Most of them got their jobs via quota and mago mago anyway.
They do nothing and would not be missed .