The Senate Committee on Downstream Sector has said that the upper chamber would engage Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to expedite sales of foreign exchange to fuel marketers in the country.
Chairman of the committee, Uche Ekwunife, who disclosed this during the oversight function of the committees to some depots in Lagos, said the development was necessary in order to enable the marketers resume importation of fuel into the country.
This will go a long way in nipping in the bud the current fuel shortages being experienced in parts of the country, she said.
Ekwunife said that most of the depots visited lamented the inability of marketers to buy foreign exchange to import petroleum product.
“We, the Senate Committee on Downstream Sector will ensure CBN is engaged to find lasting solution to ways marketers can assess foreign exchange in bank to fast track importation,” she said.
Venkataraman Venkatapathy, Managing Director of NIPCO – one of the fuel marketers and jetty operating in Apapa, said the company had remained an ally of government in ensuring product availability across the country through its depot operations and branded stations and independent marketer’s outlets who load in the terminal.
He noted that pricing of petroleum products at its depot have always been at the government approved depot rates, adding that concerted efforts are also made to ensure that only registered marketers with verifiable outlets load in the company.
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