The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has reached an agreement with the federal government to begin lifting of petroleum products across the country “in six hours”. According to Magnus Abe, chairman of the senate committee on petroleum resources, the resolution was reached after a meeting of MOMAN and the committee with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of FINANCE and coordinating minister for the economy; Joseph Dawha, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and major stakeholders in the oil and gas sector. Also, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have suspended their industrial actions. The senate commenced a probe of the grinding fuel scarcity in the country on Monday. During the hearing of the probe, Okonjo-Iweala argued that the current scarcity of fuel in the country was caused by “some forces” among the major oil marketers who were bent on making the government of President Goodluck Jonathan
look bad. The minister said out of the N200 billion that the marketers were asking for, “N159 billion is unclarified claims”. She maintained that she would not give approval to the release of the said money until it was clarified. “If a FINANCE minister is to sign on to that amount without making sure that this amount is really what it is, will Nigerians not accuse of fraud?” she asked. “I don’t want to be part of any accusation of fraud. We must verify properly. “What is happening is a
deliberate attempt to sabotage this economy
and bring the government to a standstill; to make the administration look bad so that
Nigerians will feel the government has not
done anything.” However, representative of
MOMAN said the N159 billion was genuine, adding that their members could not import fuel because banks refused to give credit even after the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria. “We want all our money because we don’t trust the government,” he said. Also speaking, Dawha, GMD of NNPC, said there was sufficient petroleum products to last for 24 days in the country. “This is an extraordinary time; we need to come together and confront the issue,” he said. “At NNPC, we are doing our best.

www.lagostoday.org/oil-marketers-to-begin-lifting-of-fuel-in-six-hours/#14325638782992