Oil marketers move to break NNPCL import monopoly gets boost

The move by oil marketers move to break the monopoly of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding imports of petrol received a boost as the Chairman of DAS Energy Services in Udu near Warri, Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has backed them.

The oil marketers hsd accused the NNPCL of tactically retaining monopoly of products importation to swing the market to its benefit at a meeting in Abuja with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

However, Onuesoke, who spoke to journalists in Warri about the move of the marketers, condemned the import monopoly held by NNPCL.

Consequently, he advised that with the removal of fuel subsidy, the government should allow healthy competition by granting licences and access to foreign exchange marketers willing to get into the products importation business.

He observed that the primary essence of removing subsidy was to free the market and make it competitive, argued that allowing other interested parties into the petroleum supply network, either through local refining or importation, will guarantee adequate production and supply and ultimately precipitate reasonable reductions in the high price that was being witnessed at this initial take off.

“It is the belief of Nigerians that the primary essence of removing subsidy is to free the market and make it competitive. This is by allowing other interested parties into the petroleum supply network. This is either by their engaging in importation or local refining.

“It is the duty of the government to ensure that all bottlenecks and frustrations in this regard are removed so that adequate productions and supplies will eventually precipitate reasonable reductions in the high price that is being witnessed at this initial take off. To achieve total subsidy removal, the monopoly of NNPCL on oil supply should be broken,” he said.

He stressed that if government seeks to fully deregulate the market, then it should be ready to allow competition, and create a level playing field, stressing that it is obnoxious for the government to allow NNPCL to access foreign exchange at official exchange rate and expect independent or major marketers to source forex from the parallel market.