PPPRA to issue import permits to 32 marketers in first quarter

Category: Business Published on Wednesday, 23 January 2013 06:00

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has concluded plans to name 32 oil marketers for the importation of petrol for the first quarter of this year, an official has said.

The top official of the agency, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

He said that the 32 companies shortlisted were meticulously screened and granted approval based on their capacity and track record in the previous quarters.

He noted that the number of marketers participating in the process had been slashed from 128 in 2011 to 38 as at the last quarter of 2012 in a bid to enthrone efficiency and transparency.

“As part of efforts to ensure better transparency and efficiency in the import process, the number of marketers has been pruned down from 38 that participated in the last quarter to 32,” he said.

The official, who refused to give the full list of the 32 marketers, said NNPC and other major and independent marketers would be involved in the process.

He said the agency would continue to enforce its stringent regulations and stressed that holders of the permit would be required to furnish PPPRA with daily records of products loading from designated depots.

He warned that it was no longer going to be “business as usual’’ as marketers with infractions would be sanctioned and possibly blacklisted from the import process.

He said the agency would continue to work with relevant government agencies and stakeholders in the sector to ensure adequate supply of the product to depots across the country.

He expressed optimism that the intermittent fuel scarcity witnessed across the country in the past few months would soon be over with the measures put in place by the relevant government agencies.

It will be recalled that most of the marketers granted licence in 2012 could not import the product as a result of the lack of credit from banks and the controversies with their subsidy claims. (NAN)