Date Published: 11/04/09

Dear Sir,

NNPC Campaign on Deregulation

The federal government is pursuing the issue of deregulation of the oil sector in a very bad way. People are not being carried along and proper systematic and planned process. All the government is doing is simply trying to force down our throats the bitter pills.

Before the deregulation could be very appropriate is when our refineries are put back to maximum delivery in production. Right now Nigeria is the only OPEC member that imports finished refined petroleum products. Is that not a shame?

The federal government is advised to do the first thing first and it will be seen that the deregulation planned would go smoothly. A situation where it was reported in the media recently (to be precise This Day newspaper of Saturday 24/10/09) that some cabal in the Ministry of Petroleum group receive commission worth N500,000 (N75million) daily from the lifters of crude oil and importers of finished petroleum products, at the expense of the masses, is not acceptable.  It has to be treated as economic sabotage, investigated and prosecuted. There are many loopholes like that and they constitute the so-called subsidy which the government is shouting about.

It should be regarded that there is no subsidy to be removed but what should be blocked or removed is this type of fraud in the upstream and downstream petroleum activities. Therefore those annoying media promotion of the deregulation which NNPC is involved should be discontinued and realities faced. There is nothing that Nigerians stand to gain in a deregulation that is fraught with wrong approach and no amount of cushioning could be given to alleviate the sufferings which await Nigerians if this hurried deregulation is embarked upon, as it were

Ike Ohia

Road 8, Festac Town

Lagos State - ikeohia@yahoo.com