NGOs to monitor kerosene sales, distribution nationwide – NNPC

January 18:

Non-governmental organisations and volunteers drawn from all over the country have been engaged to help monitor the distribution and sales of kerosene at the regulated price of N50 per litre at mega and affiliate stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

According to the NNPC, the initiative, tagged ‘Kero Correct,’ was aimed at cutting off the several layers of middlemen who made it difficult for the end users to enjoy the subsidy on the product.

The General Manager, NNPC Retail, Mr. Ufford Ibanga, stated that all of the 524 NNPC Retail mega, floating mega and affiliate stations across Nigeria had been keyed up for the scheme.

Ibanga, in a statement from the corporation on Sunday, explained that the volunteers were being brought into the project to help monitor discharge and sales of the product to serve as an independent feedback system aimed at promoting transparency and ensuring that the product gets to the desired end users.

The Chairman, Kero Correct Committee, Mr. Nwakwu Anthony, outlined the three-fold role of the NGOs and volunteers to include monitoring of discharge and sales of the product, ensuring orderliness at points of sales and serving as whistle blowers.

He called on them to be passionate about their duties and justify the trust reposed in them by ensuring that the Nigerian masses derive maximum benefits from the scheme.

The scheme, according to the corporation, will be flagged off soon and will involve the distribution of a total of 1,500 trucks of kerosene across NNPC Retail’s mega and affiliate stations.

The Executive Director, Commercial of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, Mr. Frank Amego, observed that though kerosene was the most subsidised product, the Nigerian masses had not been enjoying the subsidy.

This, he said, was because of the long arbitrage system involved in its distribution and retail, diversion of the product by marketers to the construction industry where it is used for blending bitumen, and the fact that NNPC had no direct control over most of the marketers involved in the distribution and sales of the product.

He said, “The Kero Correct initiative is thus designed to distribute and sell kerosene directly to end users from NNPC Retail mega and affiliate stations across the country at the government-regulated price of N50 per litre to ensure effective control.”

He assured that PPMC had enough stock of kerosene and that machinery had been put in place to ensure efficient distribution of the product from Lagos and Oghara to NNPC Retail mega and affiliate stations across Nigeria.

Source: www.punchng.com/news/ngos-to-monitor-kerosene-sales-distribution-nationwide-nnpc/?