Onuesoke Backs Marketers’ Move to End NNPCL’s Petrol Monopoly

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

The Chairman of DAS Energy Services in Udu near Warri, Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has backed  oil marketers move to end the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) petrol monopoly.

Oil marketers, who have accused the NNPCL of tactically retaining monopoly of products importation to swing the market to its benefit, were meeting in Abuja to engage the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to seek ways in breaking the monopoly of the corporation in the oil sector.

Onuesoke, who spoke to journalists  in Warri about the move of the marketers, condemned the import monopoly held by NNPCL, noting that the situation was not helping the petrol market.

He advised that with the removal of fuel subsidy, the government should allow healthy competition by granting licences and access to foreign exchange marketers willing to get into the products importation business.

The former governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, who observed  that the primary essence of removing subsidy was to free the market and make it competitive, argued that allowing other interested parties into the petroleum supply network, either through local refining or importation, will guarantee adequate production and supply and ultimately precipitate reasonable reductions in the high price that was being witnessed at this initial take off.

According to him, “It is the belief of Nigerians that the primary essence of removing subsidy is to free the market and make it competitive. This is by allowing other interested parties into the petroleum supply network. This is either by their engaging in importation or local refining.

“It is the duty of the government to ensure that all bottlenecks and frustrations in this regard are removed so that adequate productions and supplies will eventually precipitate reasonable reductions in the high price that is being witnessed at this initial take off. To achieve total subsidy removal, the monopoly of NNPCL on oil supply should be broken.”

He maintained that if government seeks to fully deregulate the market, then it should be ready to allow competition, and create a level playing field, stressing  that it is obnoxious for the government to  allow NNPCL to access foreign exchange at official exchange rate and expect independent or major marketers to source forex from the parallel market.