MOMAN says downstream still needs regulation

Nigeria’s downstream sector still needs some sort of regulation to main sanity, according to Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji.

Mr. Oyebanji made the assertion on the sideline of an energy event held last week, where he told SweetcrudeReports that although part of the agitations of independent oil marketers is for the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA to hands off price fixing, and allow for a market where prices of products are determined by prevailing situations however, the downstream sector should not be left without direction.

According to him, clamour for a fully deregulated downstream sector does not mean that all forms of regulation should be eradicated.

“The downstream sector still needs regulation,” he said.

Explaining further, he listed where the sector would be needing government directives.

For instance he said, the market would need regulation on quality to guard against circulation of adulterated products.

“In the case of a fully deregulated downstream sector, government cannot just sit and watch any marketer bring in any kind of products as the y want. There has to be quality standard control”, he said.

He added that there has to directives on dispensing of products; “marketers need to be monitored on the quantity they dispense. What consumers pay for should be what they get. One litre should be one litre,” he said.

Mr. Oyebanji also said there should be punishment for marketers who go against guidelines, and regulation on how much FOREX is sold to marketers.

“It would be unfair for marketer ‘A’ to get FOREX at N100 while others get at N400. If that happens then, you would notice that while marketer ‘A’ sells at N1 per litre, others would sell at costlier prices and this would cause controversies. The CBN has to treat everyone equally,” he said.

He added that an independent regulator different from the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR is needed for the downstream sector.

SOURCE: sweetcrudereports.com