BY INALEGWU SHAIBU
ABUJA— Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA,  in a frantic rush to beat the proposed January deadline fixed for the removal of oil subsidy by President Goodluck Jonathan, has begun mopping of contracts and supply of petroleum products to prevent loss from oil marketers when subsidy is eventually removed.

Notwithstanding widespread public outcry against the Federal Government’s proposal, Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Mr. Goody Egbuji, at an interactive session with Senate Committee on Federal Character on tour of the agency, argued that the cost of fuel has become a national challenge.

He said because of this, there was the need for government to withdraw subsidy from oil and allow petrol sell at commercial prices.

Egbuji said: “The cost of fuel has become a national challenge.  We are in the precipice of implementing programmes that will not be popular, we want to be selling petroleum products at commercial prices.

“We are getting all the facts, but we as an agency was also given the same time to mop up all our existing contracts and supplies. So, there is a little bit of traffic in supply to ensure that the deadline does not catch up with anybody because we may not be able to handle the economic loss.”

Egbuji also told the Senator Dahiru Kuta-led committee that though there were sharp practices in the industry resulting in the abuse of subsidy, PPPRA was not part of the alleged sharp practices in the distribution of petroleum products across the nation.

He said: “A lot of people try to interpret it by saying that the reason the budget is rising so high is because there are sharp practices going on. We are not part of the sharp practices.”

He also listed some of the challenges of the agencies which have affected the flow of petroleum products in the market.

Egbuji said: “At the same time, we have incidences of irregularities, but we are trying to curtail that.

“They are the normal things you see in a society that has problems, we have product theft, a situation where some people go in the night to steal fuel and pocket the money. But honestly, they have no significant impact on the problem of distribution.”

Responding, Senator Kuta said the issue of subsidy is still a rumour at the Senate, “It has not been brought to us,” he said.

Senator Kuta who also commented on adherence to Federal Character principle in staff recruitment of the agency queried the lopsidedness in employment.

Egbuji admitting the lopsidedness however assured that their will be balance in staff recruitment after the deregulation.