Fuel Scarcity and What we must do-Doyin Okupe

The former senior special assistant to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan gives his opinion on ending the lingering fuel crises..Read below

The perennial fuel scarcity with its attendant pains and misery is here again.
This phenomenon has become an intermittent plague that has bedevilled our national life for decades now.
For most part of the life of the last administration it was contained to some extent by government pandering to the often repeated threats and blackmail of the league of importers or the members of the Tanker drivers association.

Government did this at very great and sometimes unjustifiable costs. The present prevailing economic conditions however precludes government from delving into such luxury.

This government, unlike its predecessor, is luckier because it has removed the contentious fuel subsidy without rancour or any major societal upheavals. What it must now do is take the next bold step and carry the deregulation of the downstream to its logical conclusion.

Government must remove all constraints and restrictions, and completely liberalise
the importation of Petroleum Products. Let all business men and financially capable companies import various grades of PMS and distribute and sell to the Nigerian public at their prices.

This will put pressures on the special discharging facilities at our ports. Therefore a follow through action of concessioning new facilities to build, operate and own must of necessity be put in place.

Many smaller non oil producing nations in Africa, Togo, Benin, Mali. Tanzania. Uganda and even Lesotho do not have petroleum scarcity ever!

I am not sure of any country in the World with our level of our economic status where the Government is directly involved in importation, disistribution and selling of petroleum products.The PPPRA should be scrapped forthwith as its continued existence and functionality runs contrary to the fundermental principle of deregulation and liberalization of the Petroleum sector.Finally of great concern to me is the unwritten discriminatory and insensitive policy of petrol stations nationwide not to sell petrol to people in jerry cans.

It is the poor and low level middle class amongst us majorly who need to fill their
small gen sets with petrol just to get a few hours of sleep after the labour of the day. Those of us who are rich need petrol for our cars and diesel for our generators.
The argument that storing petrol in jerry cans at home is purile. Travelling by automobiles is equally dangerous because of accidents but we don't ban purchase if cars instead we warn road users of dangers of bad driving and get drivers to comply with driving regulations