BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – Petroleum products importers in the country have been challenged to set up modular refineries to complement Federal Government efforts at stabilizing the economy if the recently introduced 15 percent tax regime would harm their operational profit margin
The challenge is coming from a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Good Governance Advocacy International (Ggai), which said that instead of whining about the tariff or the operations of Dangote refinery, the marketers should embrace robust collaboration to set up petroleum or modular refineries in the country.
Director General of Ggai, Mr Leonard Anyogo said in an interview with newsmen in Calabar, that having the growing contingent of importers collaborating to establish modular refineries, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would no longer face the onerous task of treating unending requests for petroleum products importation as currently is the case.
He said such partnership would also open more employment frontiers for Nigeria’s teeming youth population, cautioning that continued importation as against local purchase is responsible for dipping value of the Nigerian currency.
Anyogo said: “We expect that Nigerians should patronise made-in-Nigeria goods for the Naira to appreciate. If we patronise Made-in-Nigeria goods, especially when we have the comparative advantage right now, the economy will strive.”
He also said relying on overpriced imported products as against lower cost in the country would cause the end users to bear the brunt of exorbitant prices.
Further defending the tariff, Anyogo said it is in the best interest of Nigeria’s economy because the development would boost the Naira value as well as attract more investors into the industry.
The Ggai boss, who offered further insight on the development, said: “The essence of the 15 percent tariffs imposed by the federal government is to show that the one you import at that high cost when you have a lower cost in the country, will place a higher burden on the end users.
“The policy of going out there to import what we have does not augur well with our economy. In international affairs, one has to protect the economy of his country and that is why we are witnessing robust economies from other climes.”
For him, it is quite shocking that marketers in Nigeria are still importing petroleum products despite the local capacity through the Dangote refinery.
