Press
Release
In a bid to get
kerosene to consumers across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja, at the regulated price of N50 per litre, the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has initiated a scheme aimed at cutting
off the several layers of middlemen who make it difficult for the end user to
enjoy the subsidy on the product.
This was disclosed in
Abuja over the weekend at a one-day workshop organized by the Corporation to
enlighten members of some grassroots non-governmental organizations and
volunteers drawn from all over the country who have been engaged to help
monitor the distribution and sales of the product at NNPC Mega and affiliate
stations across the country.
Speaking on the
objective of the ‘Kero Correct’ initiative, the Executive Director Commercial
of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Frank Amego,
explained that the scheme was aimed at getting kerosene to the Nigerian masses
who use the product as their domestic cooking fuel at the correct price.
He observed that
though kerosene was the most subsidized product, the Nigerian masses have not
been enjoying the subsidy because of the long arbitrage system involved in its
distribution and retail, diversion of the product by marketers to the
construction industry where it is used for blending bitumen, and the fact that
NNPC has no direct control over most of the marketers involved in the
distribution and sales of the product.
“The Kero Correct
initiative is thus designed to distribute and sell kerosene directly to end
users from NNPC Retail mega and affiliate stations across the country at the
government-regulated price of N50 per litre to ensure effective control,” Mr.
Amego stated.
He assured that PPMC
has enough stock of kerosene and that machinery has been put in place to ensure
efficient distribution of the product from Lagos and Oghara to NNPC Retail mega
and affiliate stations in every nook and cranny of the country.
Also speaking at the
occasion, the General Manager, NNPC Retail, Mr. Ufford Jackson Ibanga, assured
that all of the 524 NNPC Retail mega, floating mega and affiliate stations
across the country have been keyed up for the Kero Correct scheme.
He explained that the
volunteers were being brought into the project to help monitor discharge and
sales of the product to serve as an independent feedback system aimed at
promoting transparency and ensuring that the product gets to the desired end
users.
The chairman of the
Kero Correct Committee and Manager Media, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Nwakwu
Uchechukwu Anthony, outlined the three-fold role of the NGOs and volunteers to
include monitoring of discharge and sales of the product, ensuring orderliness
at points of sales and serving as whistle blowers.
He called on them to
be passionate about their duties and justify the trust reposed in them by
ensuring that the Nigerian masses derive maximum benefits
from the scheme.
The scheme which will
be officially flagged off soon will involve the distribution of a total of
1,500 trucks of kerosene across NNPC Retail’s mega and affiliate stations
across the country to ensure that each consumer gets at least 25 litres of the
product over the next three months.
OHI ALEGBE
Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division,
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
Abuja
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