110604
today:
Marketers yet to get court order, says Justice Minister
* Labour reviews strike today
From Emmanuel Onwubiko and Oghogho Obayuwana (Abuja), Yakubu Lawal, Yetunde Majekodunmi and Shola Yusuff (Lagos)
TWO days after it was made, the Federal High Court order that fuel prices be reverted to N38.00 per litre is yet to be served on the marketers, according to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi.
The national workers' strike, to protest against the fuel price increase enters its third day today. Although the court had also ordered the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to also shelve the strike, the workers' umbrella organisation said its obedience of the order was incumbent on the government and the marketers obeying the court.
The NLC is billed to hold an emergency meeting in Lagos today, to review the strike and the government's compliance with the order.
Justice Roseline Ukeje of the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave the order on Tuesday in an action filed by the government to stop the strike.
Olujinmi, in his office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, said that the oil marketers were yet to obey the order because they had not been served with it.
He, however, faulted queries as to whether the posture did not amount to a disobedience of the court or whether the apparent refusal of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, to enforce as directed did not constitute an affront on the rule of law.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Prof. Ignatius Ayua (SAN), who spoke alongside the Attorney General, also said that it was not possible for the marketers to obey an order that had not been served on them.
Olujinmi said: "You know that government respects the rule of law and the government will always strive to promote good governance at all times. If the major fuel marketers have been served with the court order, I am sure they will comply."
On his part, Ayua said: "You cannot obey what has not been served on you. I am sure that when they are served, as men and women of conscience, they will obey and revert to the old rate."
The Chairman of the Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, yesterday pleaded for patience with the marketers on the order that they revert to old prices.
He told The Guardian that it would take some time to achieve full compliance with the order.
Gbadamosi, in a telephone interview said: "Compliance with the court order is a function of time. It cannot be achieved overnight. It is inhuman to expect it to be instant."
The PPPRA's chairman added: "They have to take stock of what they bought and have sold. They will have to also do the Arithmetic of accounting and, do not forget, they are not an appendage of anybody. That is what deregulation means."
Reminded about government's responsibility to ensure compliance and halt continuous social and economic dislocation, Gbadamosi said: "They have been instructed to comply. I have done my work. The directives have been issued for them to comply and there are ways you can enforce compliance, I am not police."
Appealing to Nigerians to be patient, the PPPRA boss said: "We have got to have sense of proportion on this. The marketers are businessmen. Holding stock bought at yesterday's prices and they bought with the hope to sell and recoup investment. Everyone has got to understand this."
Meanwhile, the NNPC group Managing Director, Mr. Funso Kupolokun, and NLC President Adams Oshiomhole yesterday embarked on a tour of some filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Apart from the NNPC mega station, other marketers continued to sell at between N51 and N52.
The Central Working Committee (CWC) of the NLC will meet today to deliberate on the next line of action.
Oshiomhole, however, told The Guardian last night that the strike would continue until a substantial harmony was achieved in the pricing of petroleum products across the country.
He noted that the marketers were yet to obey the court order.
The Labour leader urged Nigerians to work along with the NLC and other allied bodies to ensure that a lasting solution was reached on the incessant increases in fuel prices.
His words: "The strike still continues as far as we are concerned because most of the reports we have received so far show that most of the marketers have not complied with the directive."
But the NNPC said yesterday that it had complied totally with the court order.
Its General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the Corporation, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, in a telephone interview with The Guardian stated that the corporation had complied fully with the court order.
Both major marketers and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have said that NNPC has not issued official letter to that effect. This is based on the fact that reconciliation will be required in view of the losses that may be incurred by the marketers. They pointed out that on May 28, 2004, the NNPC through the PPMC wrote a formal letter informing them of price increase from N33.50 to N38.50 per `litre across board.
The major marketers yesterday described NNPC's action, especially in their refusal to issue official letter as deceptive, while IPMAN said that the on -going strike made it difficult for its members to revert the pump prices to the pre-February levels on their meters
A statement made available to The Guardian and signed by the body's National Publicity secretary, Mr. Bimbola Onafowokan, said that the strike had made it difficult for pumps maintenance engineers to get to the petrol outlets to effect the change.
The association also said that both the PPMC and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) had not issued official statement to marketers on a downward review of the depot price as well as the bridging cost.
"NNPC/PPMC and PEF boards are yet to issue official statement to marketers on price of purchase of petroleum products or the Petroleum Equalisation Fund", the statement reads.
The PPMC is the subsidiary of the NNPC in charge of sales and distribution of refined petroleum products in the country.
But Ajuonuma told The Guardian that NNPC was not the pricing regulatory body in the industry, adding that it was the PPPRA that should issue such letters to the marketers.
He, however, stated that given the verbal instruction by NNPC group managing director, Kupolokun, marketers should obey the court order as all issues would be sorted out as soon as normalcy returns to the country. He said that the NNPC station in Ikoyi, Lagos, was not selling because it had exhausted its stock.
Ajuonuma stated further that NNPC and the leadership of NLC met at the NNPC tower yesterday to review the situation and that Labour was happy with the level of compliance by NNPC stations and others in the Federal Capital Territory, adding that both PPMC management and Labour leaders later monitored the situation in Abuja.
He said while the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) would intensify its effort to ensure total compliance today (Friday) all affected stakeholders should obey the court order in the interest of the nation.
Onafowokan stressed that they could not effect the change because most of their members had deserted their outlets due to the strike, so as not to encourage hoodlums or thieves from taking undue advantage of the situation.
According to him, the increment in the pump price of petrol from N41.70 to N49.90 was as a result of the increment in depot price by NNPC of N38.50 from N33.50 per litre, as well as increment in bridging fund by PEF from 80k per litre to N1.00 per litre.
He expressed concern over the inconveniences Nigerians might have experienced due to the petrol price hike, saying they wanted to assure Nigerians that independent marketers were law abiding operators of the downstream oil sector.
Following a Federal High Court order that the prices of petroleum products should be reverted to pre-February prices and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend its strike, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said its members were not able to revert due to the persistence of the strike.
Meanwhile, from investigations carried out by The Guardian around Lagos metropolis, most petrol marketers have reverted their pump price from N49.90 to between N41.50 and N43.00
At the Oando station at International Airport Road, fuel was sold at N41.50 while a Conoil outlet sold a litre of petrol for N41.50.
However, at Total petrol outlets visited around Lawanson Road, the price had not been reverted, but the attendant who spoke with our reporter noted that they were yet to receive any memo from their headquarters' office, adding that even if they had, there was no way they could do it with the strike on.
But most petrol outlets were not selling due to fear of being hijacked by hoodlums.`
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