NECA Speaks In Favour Of 15% Duty On Imported Petroleum Products

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has hailed the Federal Government for the 15 per cent import tariff on certain petroleum products, describing the measure as timely and essential for protecting and encouraging local refining.

In a statement on Sunday, NECA Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said it is absurd that a country blessed with crude oil has spent so many years importing petrol and diesel.

According to Oyerinde, the comatose state of Nigeria’s four refineries can be partly blamed on ongoing imports of products the refineries are capable of producing.

Inefficient Measurement Standards Costs Nigeria $300Bn Loss In Oil Revenue – Senate

Inefficient Measurement Standards Costs Nigeria $300Bn Loss In Oil Revenue – Senate

The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Incessant and Nefarious Acts of Crude Oil Theft in the Niger Delta and the Actors, has discovered that systemic irregularities, poor measurement standards, and weak enforcement in the oil and gas sector has resulted to unaccounted crude oil sales.

The Committee on Wednesday disclosed that Nigeria has lost an estimated $300 billion in revenue from natural resources between 2015 and the present.

Presenting the Committee’s interim report, its chairman, Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), said the findings stemmed from oral submissions made by stakeholders, documents, records, and information obtained from the general public.

He said the 40-page interim report recommends several measures to tackle crude oil theft, strengthen accountability, and recover lost revenues. The committee, after extensive assessment, recommended that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, should strictly enforce internationally accepted crude oil measurement standards at all production sites and export terminals.