Petroleum industry experts have called on the government and the NNPCL to divest from the refineries to achieve streamlined product distribution and enhance operational efficiency.
Speaking on Newscentral’s programme, A Place at the Table, on Sunday, former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, said it was pertinent that the government hands off the refining of petroleum products and ultimately the pipelines for efficient distribution of the products across the country.
”NNPC should divest from refineries and with the pipelines, there needs to be a transition because of the security implications.” He said.
Similarly, oil and gas consultant Ronke Onadeko stressed that the government – especially the Nigerian government has never run anything effectively and efficiently and agreed that “all assets need to go into private hands”.
Peterside also urged the government to stop giving the NNPC any advantage in the industry and allow the regulatory agencies to do their jobs, which is what the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry have established regulators for.
“Let the regulators do their work. Let NNPC compete like others and not be given any advantage. Let them not be treated like a state institution, as they are not.” He stressed.
