- Kayode Opeifa urged NNPC to concession its inland depots and pipelines to enhance effective supply of PMS across the country
- Opeifa believes increased private sector involvement leveraging the Petroleum Industry Act would reduce Nigeria’s dependency on NNPC for fuel imports
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has been urged to concession its inland depots and pipelines to enhance the effective Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply nationwide. Kayode Opeifa, the Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainable Mobility and Development, made this call during a television program discussing the ongoing fuel scarcity in Nigeria.
Opeifa, a former Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, also emphasized the need for the private sector to leverage the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He believes increased involvement from private players would reduce the country’s dependency on NNPCL for fuel imports.
“The first thing is to ensure that the PIA works in full. By that time, we have other providers for PMS other than NNPCL, and then we can diversify supply,” Opeifa stated. He added, “The private sector, with this PIA, should come in. NNPCL can concession their existing pipelines or on the corridors for people to other pipelines. They can also concession the inland depots, the ones in Suleja, Ilorin, Ejigbo, and Ore, and you start going up North to Kano, Kaduna, and the rest.”
Opeifa criticized the ongoing fuel scarcity, attributing it to inadequate infrastructure, pipeline vandalization, and forex issues. However, he expressed optimism that the commencement of fuel sales by the Dangote Refinery in August would alleviate supply problems.
His remarks highlight a growing consensus that involving more private sector stakeholders and utilizing existing legislative frameworks like the PIA could provide sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s recurring fuel scarcity issues.
Discussion about this post