The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has commended the federal government for approving private firms’ importation of petroleum products.

Chinedu Anyaso, chairman of IPMAN Enugu Depot Community, in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, said this while reacting to the development in Awka on Sunday.

Mr Anyaso said this was a positive development and an appropriate response to the demands of marketers and Nigerian masses who had condemned the monopolistic grip of NNPCL on the oil and gas sector for decades.

He said this would create the much-needed competitive pricing environment and allow market forces to determine the price of products.

“Two days ago, I repeated the call that the federal government should issue import licences to private investigators. I also said it is wrong for the NNPCL, a private company, to be the sole importer and determiner of prices.

“I am happy that the same NMDPRA also announced that approval has been given to private importers. This is how it should be in a deregulated Industry,” he said.

On Friday, the managing director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, said private marketers could now import petrol into the country.

Mr Farouk said under the new arrangement, the NNPCL had ceased to be the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria.

“The market is now open for everybody that wants to import as far as they meet all the requirements. The NMDPRA will no longer fix prices or release templates for petrol,” he said.

Mr Anyaso commended the federal government for its bold step. He called on it to extend the same to refineries to complement the contributions of the Dangote refinery when it commenced production.

He said the four existing refineries should be repaired to produce at optimal capacity while licences are issued to more people who could build modular refineries.

He said this was the time to address the problem of Enugu Depot, which had been moribund for over 15 years and had made the distribution of products in the zone difficult.

“We are appealing that as the government is addressing the issue of supply, they should also address the distribution problem, Enugu Depot has not functioned for over 15 years; we need the federal government to fix it.

“It has not been easy for our members who source products from Lagos, Warri, Calabar and bring by road; the risk, accident and losses have been too much,” he said.

(NAN)