President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the creation of a 14-man Steering Committee on Petroleum Products Supply and Distribution Management, which he will personally chair to find a long-term solution to the disruptions in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the nation.
This is stated in a statement made accessible to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday and signed by Horatius Egua, Senior Advisor (Media & Communications) to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
The steering committee is tasked with, among other things, ensuring the efficient and transparent supply and distribution of petroleum products across the nation. Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, serves as the body’s alternate chairman.
Other terms of reference include ensuring end-to-end tracking of petroleum products, visibility on the NNPC Limited refineries rehabilitation program, and end-to-end management of national strategic stock, with a focus on PMS to determine daily national consumption and stop smuggling.
Sylva has instructed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to strictly enforce adherence to the government-approved ex-depot and retail prices for PMS to further maintain sanity in the supply and distribution across the value chain.
The minister also amended the NMDPRA to make sure that NNPC Limited, the nation’s supplier of last resort, satisfies its domestic supply obligations for PMS and other petroleum products.
Additionally, he ordered that the interests of the typical Nigerian be safeguarded against price gouging on other deregulated products like AGO, DPK, and LPG.
He asserted that the Federal Government will not permit misguided individuals to inflict unimaginable hardship on the populace and work to undermine government efforts to consolidate the advancements made thus far in the oil and gas industry.
The National Economic Adviser to the President, the Minister of Finance, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps are also members of the committee (NSCDC).
The authority chief executive of Nigerian Midstream, a member of the Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the group chief executive officer of NNPC Limited, and a special advisor (with special duties) to the HMSPR are also members of the steering committee. The technical advisor for midstream to the HMSPR will serve as secretary.
