The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) has urged the Federal Government to fix bad roads and encourage private and modular refineries to enable affordable petroleum products.
NOGASA also called on the government to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on imported products, especially the Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO), called diesel, to reduce cost of transporting petroleum products.
Mr Benneth Korie, President, NOGASA, in a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, said petroleum tankers took much longer time to distribute fuel, on account of bad roads and that flooding had ravaged many parts of the highways, causing more delays.
Korie called for quick intervention by government and said he had spent N50 million rehabilitating some sections of the East-West Road to facilitate transportation of petroleum products.
He also emphasised that diesel was important in building the nation’s economy, adding that the rising cost of the product would significantly affect cost of transportation on land and sea.
According to him, since deregulation is now in the pipeline, government should reduce taxes on imported products to give suppliers and consumers a palatable platform.
Korie decried the fall in the value of the naira against the dollar and said this has affected the cost of importation of petroleum and other commodities.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on all Nigerian refineries to hasten repairs and lower the cost of refined products in the local market.
He said that the association was expecting the Federal Government to bring critical stakeholders together to design alternative sources of energy that could be evenly distributed across the country.
“NOGASA is ready to collaborate with the government anytime it is called upon and will deliver every assignment within its ambit of power,” he said.
He underscored the importance of exploring Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to cushion the subsidy removal effect, adding that they have become competitive and viable options.
He reiterated the association’s readiness to partner with the Federal Government in terms of provision of manpower and gas facilities station nationwide, as well as the training and conversion centres to achieve desired targets.
“The National Gas Expansion Programme Committee should be called back to continue their good work of bringing sellers and suppliers of CNG equipment together, and boost quality assurance,” he said.
He also suggested that refineries should be overhauled under close government supervision and that the National Gas Expansion Programme Committee should continue its work to ensure sustainable growth.
