President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the constitution of a 14-man steering committee on petroleum products supply and distribution management.

The steering committee will be chaired by Mr Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resource Timipre Sylva as the alternate chairman.

Mr Sylva, in a statement by his media aide, Horatius Egua, said the committee would, among other things, ensure transparent and efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

To further ensure sanity in the supply and distribution across the value chain, Mr Sylva directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to ensure strict compliance with the government-approved ex-depot and retail fuel prices.

The minister also directed the NMDPRA to ensure that NNPC, which is the supplier of last resort, meets the domestic supply obligation of PMS and other petroleum products in the country.

He further directed that the interests of the ordinary Nigerian are protected from price exploitation on other deregulated products, such as diesel, Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).

“The federal government will not allow misguided elements to bring untold hardship upon the citizenry and attempt to discredit government’s efforts in consolidating the gains made thus far in the oil and gas sector of the economy,” he said.

Other terms of reference are to ensure national strategic stock management, visibility on the NNPC Limited refineries rehabilitation programme and ensure end-to-end tracking of petroleum products, especially fuel, to ascertain daily national consumption and eliminate smuggling.

Members of the committee also include the Minister of Finance, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the National Economic Adviser to the President, and the director-general of the State Security Service (SSS).

Others are the comptroller-general, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and commandant-general, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The steering committee members also include the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Special Advisor (Special Duties) to the HMSPR, while the technical advisor (Midstream) to the HMSPR will serve as the secretary.

(NAN)