Senate to Presidency: avert looming fuel crisis

Govt, petroleum marketers agree on settlement of unpaid claims

THE Senate yesterday asked the Federal Government to take immediate step to avert looming fuel scarcity in the country.

The upper chamber said the advice became even more compelling with the Christmas festivities by the corner.

But the Government and petroleum marketers have agreed on the settlement of outstanding claims and assured that operations at all depots and sales would continue until further notice.

The Senate’s position followed the alarm raised by Senator Kabiri Marafa over alleged failure of the Federal Government to honour its obligation to pay oil marketers.

Marafa, who is Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), told his colleagues that the grim reality was that if measures were not taken to pay the oil marketers their outstanding entitlements, the country might be the worse for it.

The Zamfara Central senator in a motion unanimously adopted told his colleagues that the Federal Government was yet to pay oil marketers about N1 trillion outstanding entitlements accumulated over the years.

He said the controversial debt dated back to President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

The Senate also urged the government to direct the relevant agencies to immediately pay the subsidy arrears as approved by Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.

However, a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media and Communications, Paul Ella Abechi, said the assurance not to disturb activities at the depots was jointly reached and signed by officials of the Federal Government and representatives of the petroleum marketers in Abuja after a joint meeting.

The meeting, he said, had senior government officials from Federal Ministry of Finance, the Debt Management Office (DMO), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in attendance.

Representatives from the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) also attended the meeting.

Abechi noted that “while expressing satisfaction over the arrangement being made by the Federal Government to settle their claims, the petroleum marketers assured members of the public of availability of petroleum products.