Against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s planned exit of the subsidy regime by June this year, the Managing Director of 11 Plc, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, has warned against a hurried implementation of the policy.
Oyebanji handed down the warning during an interactive session with energy correspondents shortly after a facility tour of its facility in Apapa, Lagos.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had last August disclosed that the Federal Government had planned for payment of subsidy for only half of 2023 as contained in the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
The 11 Plc boss warned that the country must be prepared for this phase of subsidy removal by having a roundtable discussion with all stakeholders likely to be impacted by the change.
He said operators must be carried along under this new phase to ensure that there is no gap in the supply chain when government finally exits.
Oyebanji added that a risk assessment and a check list must be drawn, including management of change, saying all boxes in the check list must be ticked to ensure all relevant stakeholders are on the same page to kick start the new phase.
He stressed that issues around the importation of products under this new phase is also one of the critical issues that government must address.
Specifically, he said exchange is one key element in the importation of petroleum products in the supply chain.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-4454686729706359&output=html&h=161&slotname=5961130859&adk=135155196&adf=2098100033&pi=t.ma~as.5961130859&w=641&fwrn=4&lmt=1680482760&rafmt=11&format=641×161&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsunnewsonline.com%2Fsubsidy-removal-11-plc-warns-against-hurried-implementation%2F&wgl=1&dt=1680483003342&bpp=3&bdt=2004&idt=1474&shv=r20230329&mjsv=m202303270101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Dc2475a46f4e74b87-2297275ba3db003c%3AT%3D1675639614%3AS%3DALNI_MagkrVwWHIRPF1VmLElaO7liaRDdA&gpic=UID%3D00000bd4524deeb0%3AT%3D1675639614%3ART%3D1680482937%3AS%3DALNI_Mascw-hchvDbSIaQyumI13Yo1JIRg&prev_fmts=0x0%2C200x600%2C641x280%2C641x161&nras=1&correlator=1546456799617&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1736311023.1675639607&ga_sid=1680483005&ga_hid=1839506956&ga_fc=1&rplot=4&u_tz=60&u_his=16&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_sd=1&adx=307&ady=2555&biw=1349&bih=615&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=44759837%2C44759876%2C44759927%2C31073348&oid=2&pvsid=3570801421849800&tmod=1009991216&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fsunnewsonline.com%2F&fc=1920&brdim=-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C1366%2C0%2C1382%2C744%2C1366%2C615&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CeEbr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=5&uci=a!5&btvi=3&fsb=1&xpc=GMTNJ0Vhvr&p=https%3A//sunnewsonline.com&dtd=1836
‘‘If we are to start importing petrol today, are we going to be getting exchange rate at the official price or we have to source from the black market at over N730 to a Dollar as against the official price of N450 to a Dollar. If it is to be sourced at the black market that means it will shore up the price of petrol and Nigerians must be prepared to pay this price
‘‘If NNPC stops importing today when it eventually ceases to subsidize petrol, does that mean there would be no product?
On fresh investments, Oyebanji said the journey has been a very interesting one in the last five years as the new owners have injected fresh funds into the operations of the company.
He disclosed that the new lubricants filling plant came with an investment of over N1 million Dollars while it has expanded its Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) capacity by 8,000 metric tonnes at a cost of over N5 billion Naira.
He explained that the cost of the LPG was impacted due to the Russian-Ukraine war, saying most of the steel import in the world comes from that axis, leading to skyrocketing prices.
He said that the company has already started exploring Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market with the construction of facilities in Ibadan and Lagos.
Oyebanji said: “We continue to see improvements and all the investments that have been made in the last few years have been rarely in upgrading the company and bringing out more value,” he said.
Credit: Daily Sun