THE NATION WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012
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COMMENTS
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OR the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, under the current leadership which just marked one year in office last month, the last two weeks can be said to be its own baptism of fire by the media. For right or wrong reasons, every organization, especially those in the public eye, often have their day in the media court. And since the journalism is history written in a hurry, many at times many organisations get undeservedly seriously bruised even without having the privilege of turning in all the facts of their case. Some others get their just dessert and the deserved knocks and go home sulking and sad thereafter. Two weeks ago, the chief executive of the agency and his team came calling at the National Assembly to honour the invitation of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Petroleum (Downstream) to defend the budget of the agency. It was in the course of handling this important task that something went the unexpected way. The whole drama centred on how much accrued to the agency through its internally generated revenue and the use to which it was put. The PPPRA boss had informed the law makers about the N5.7 billion that was generated and listed the sub heads under which the fund was expended in line with what was approved by the Budget Office for its 2012 overheads and personnel. In the spirit of true democratic practice and wanting to asset its authority, the legislators had reaffirmed the role of the legislature in respect of appropriation and proceeded to warn sternly that the MDAs have no power to expend any fund without the legislature appropriating it. The PPPRA boss was invited for a second session the following day and the law makers’ day’s job was done. It was from here the media took over. The following day the media was awash with screaming headlines on how N5.7 billion was blown on staff, as one newspaper noted in its headline. Days later, some newspapers, drawing from the drama on the floor of the House and the sensational report of the event by their correspondents, took position, in editorials, calling on authorities to scrap PPPRA. Indeed a sober study and analysis of the encounter will bring out two salient facts. One, what the law makers were after that day was to establish their authority, perhaps rightly, that by law, the role of the legislature to appropriate is sacrosanct and cannot be compromised; two, it was never in dispute that the sum of N5.7 billion was appropriated for overheads and personnel for the
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N the past, leaders in Nigeria have failed the people; too much promises, less action hence the average Nigerian hardly has any confidence in their leaders. But even at that, there are still leaders with integrity, who have made promises, kept them in the face of daunting challenges of leadership in the country today. One such leaders is the governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji, a man who has consistently keep to his election promises since he was re-elected for second term in 2011. Today Abia State, hitherto a backward state on the development index in the country, has witnessed and is still witnessing uncommon transformation drive courtesy of legacy projects being executed by the present government. Anybody who has followed the politics of the state since 1999 would never believe that such progress could be made in the state within the short period of Governor Orji’s re-election. All these have been made possible, thanks to the successful and peaceful liberation of the state from the stranglehold of the former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu’s political dynasty. The successful execution of some legacy
‘As the government has started the reconstruction of 16 roads in the city, what will armchair critics like the NBA leadership in the city and their paymaster do or say now? Will they applaud government efforts or continue to make mockery of themselves before the people in the name of criticisms against the state government?’
That PPPRA’s baptism of fire By Abdullahi Yakubu agency in the 2012 Budget. What was in contention was where the fund was sourced from. For any discerning analyst, it may not be too far to see that this may just have been much noise over little or nothing. Contrary to the impression created about a major secret deal blown up, the overheads and personnel cost of the agency (not salary and allowances alone) went through the rigour of budge scrutiny and was duly appropriated. At no time during the session did the law makers describe the salary and allowances of PPPRA as something they were getting to know for the first time. And contrary to the submission of N5.7 billion divided by 249 members of staff, that appropriation was for both personnel and overheads such as expenses incurred in its operations duly vetted by the budget office. Indeed, little effort at information gathering would have shown that what PPPRA officials earn is not different, or rather similar to what obtains in other agencies of government in the oil and gas industry such as Nigeria Petroleum Development Trust Fund NPDTF, Petroleum Equalization Trust Fund PETF, Petroleum Products and Marketing Company, PPMC, among others. Indeed, it is because of this standard salary structure that staffers of one of the agencies are routinely transferred to others as the situation requires without such workers feeling shortchanged, or unduly favoured. The agency’s Chief Executive, Reginald Stanley had cause to correct the wrong impression of a jumbo salary at PPPRA days later, describing it as a gross misrepresentation of what he said while appearing before the august committee. He said the sum of N5.7billion, when broken down into sub-heads, actually accounted for staff salaries and allowances, National Contributory Pension, Pension Payments, National Health Insurance Scheme, Pay-AsYou-Earn tax element, overheads, and other sundry deductions, consistent with what obtains in other MDAs, especially in the Oil and Gas Sub-sector. He added that ‘PPPRA does not operate a peculiar salary structure independent of what obtains in other sister organizations within the oil and gas sub-sector. We are fully aligned with other organizations on what we earn. We receive budgetary allocations on yearly basis, like others, and we account for every kobo spent, in
the spirit of transparency and accountability, all for the good of our country.’ Downstream oil sector analysts will readily attest to the efforts PPPRA has put into the works of sanitizing that sub sector of the oil industry in the last one year. Records clearly show that owing to some stringent measures put in place by the new leadership, PPPRA has brought down payment on subsidy by 49.7 per cent in 10 months when what was paid between January and October this year is compared to what was paid during the same period in 2011. While the federal government paid N1.351 trillion as subsidy between January and October 2011, what was paid during the same period this year came to N679 billion, with NNPC receiving N337.7 billion while other marketers received a combined figure of N342 billion. With this feat, the agency has been able to save some N671 billion in 10 months for the nation. Of course, anyone familiar with this industry will testify to the fact that bringing this about took some efforts. Since November 2011 when the Stanley led team took over with a clear mandate by the supervising ministry to restore sanity to petroleum products importation business, the team has hit the ground running and it has not looked back. Indeed, the first step he took which gave a clear signal that he meant business was the pruning down of the oil importing and trading companies licensed to import products from an all- comers and unwieldy 126 to 42 by the first quarter of this year. Not just that the figure has today been brought down to a manageable 39, stringent measures and regulations have been put in place to enthrone transparency, accountability and quality service delivery. A few of these measures will suffice in this analysis. One of the earlier measures taken by the agency was the restriction of participation in fuel importation to only owners of coastal discharge/depots facilities, thus reducing participation in the PSF Scheme to only genuine and capable marketers. This move has achieved an added advantage of motivating more investments in the development of petroleum handling facilities, thereby promoting local content development ensuring better management of participants in the PSF scheme. To enthrone transparency in the scheme, a number of measures were put in place, which today the nation is benefitting from remarkably. They include: the introduction
Tackling the challenge of Aba roads By Joyce Ofodu projects in the state among which are the new workers secretariat, International Conference Centre, Amaokwe Housing Estate, Judiciary Complex and others within a short period of Orji’s re-election is a clear testimony and evidence that his government was hijacked, delayed and distracted during his first term in office by his predecessor and now estranged and frustrated godfather. Now the people must have realized what they lost in terms of developments in the years of political godfatherism. That is why the planned probe of the exgovernor’s administration is very much supported and hailed by the people. This is because such probe will give an insight on how the collective resources of the state was mismanaged and cornered by a particular family for more than a decade with nothing for people. Truly, Governor Orji has shown that he is a better student of politics and governance than his predecessor, and the people of the state are already testifying and reciprocating it with the tremendous goodwill and support they have shown for his administration since his re-election. Not forgetting his election promises on tackling of infrastructural challenges in Aba, Governor Orji has built a pedestrian bridge in front of Abia State Polytecnic Aba along Aba/ Owerri to save the life of commuters especially students who had fell victims of road accident along the road in the past. His government has also constructed and reha-
bilitated many roads in the commercial city of Aba, including the long-abandoned Ukwummango road before the rainy season sets in. But with the torrents of rainfall coupled with heavy flooding in the city, government contractors working there left the sites to avoid wastages and shoddy jobs. But instead of understanding the true situation of things, some armchair critics especially the leadership of NBA in have since made themselves a pawn in the hand of Orji’s predecessor, to criticize and accuse Orji’s government of abandoning Aba roads. The criticisms should never be allowed to derail the administration’s vision and commitment in Aba, knowing full well that it is much easier to be critical than to be correct, especially when such criticisms are being sponsored and paid for to achieve selfish political aim. It was the British politician and author, Benjamin Disraeli who once said: “If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming criticisms. The thing is to get the work done.” The above aphorism is Orji government’s philosophy in the face of sponsored criticisms and attacks at his government since he liberated the state from Kalu dynasty. As a man who lives and abides by his election promises to his people, Orji’s government has mobilized contractors and work has commenced on 16 roads that need serious attention in the city as the rainy season subsided. He had made it clear before now that con-
of certified cargo inspectors to enhance operational efficiency and accountability in the areas of products receipts, in line with international best practices; introduction of Double-Three-Two (3-3-2) inspector system to monitor product imports. With this, three inspectors nominated by the agency will confirm vessel arrival quantities; three inspectors will confirm vessel discharge qualities, while two other inspectors will confirm the qualities physically trucked–out of the depots. Taking physical control of discharge values at depots is another initiative that has helped to eliminate risks of Back-loading activities. The Agency has also tightened requirements for import documents such as Letter of Credit, Bill of Lading, Form M, DPR License, Shore Tank Certificates etc thereby eliminating risks of Bill of Lading manipulation and ensuring integrity of products discharge data to justify subsidy payments. To battle the evil of round tripping, the Agency imposed a ban on cargo from storage tanks in West African coasts, except from refineries and blending plants; it also imposed a similar ban of ‘homogenized cargo’ in further pursuit of its war against round tripping. The Agency hit the bull’s eye in July when it subscribed to Llyod’s List of Intelligence Sea Searcher services, for tracking vessels movements around the world. This is to determine the true origin as well as monitor vessels movement right from take off until they berth on the nation’s shores. Industry watchers described the measure as master stroke in the battle to sanitize the industry. More interesting is the fact that the agency obtained NNPC’s commitments to comply with all the measures and requirements for PSF processing just like all other marketers. •Yakubu wrote in from Lagos
‘To battle the evil of round tripping, the Agency imposed a ban on cargo from storage tanks in West African coasts, except from refineries and blending plants; it also imposed a similar ban of ‘homogenized cargo’ in further pursuit of its war against round tripping’ tractors had been mobilized to commence work on the roads any moment, so that motorists and commuters could enjoy the roads during the yuletide celebration but the doubting Thomases did not believe him. The roads witnessing construction works which was flagged off by the governor recently include Azikiwe, Jubillee, Cemetery, Milverton Avenue, Eziukwu/Okigwe roundabout, Ama Ogbonna, Nwala by Faulks road to Brass Junction at Aba Owerri road, Ngwa road, Ohanku which is on-going; Emelogu Road completed but to be added drainage; Ehere, Omoba road, Umuola road, Ikot Ekpene road from Opobo junction to Bata, Amaogbonna/Omuma by ACCN, Nwigwe by Nwagba Avenue and Geometric Access road Aba. With these projects, it is clear that the present administration in the state had always meant well for the city and the residents, but faced with natural and financial challenges to take the city to the next level. That is why the state government has always called on private investors and federal government to partner with them in tackling the challenges in Aba for good. The present government in the state has never claimed repository of solutions and answers to the daunting environmental challenges in the city; rather than engage in blackmail or shifting-blame, it has continued to tackle them systematically and effectively since it came into office despite the paucity of funds. As the government has started the reconstruction of 16 roads in the city, what will armchair critics like the NBA leadership in the city and their paymaster do or say now? Will they applaud government efforts or continue to make mockery of themselves before the people in the name of criticisms against the state government? • Ofodu wrote from Abuja