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Tag: PEF

  • PEF introduces censor to monitor fuel consumption

    The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) Executive Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi, yesterday said the Fund has introduced censor monitoring project of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) so as to ascertain the volume of its consumption.

    He said the Fund last year  planned railway equalisation and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration projects to address environmental degradation and tackle insecurity.

    Addressing reporters at a workshop organised by the Fund in Abuja, he said the censor has become necessary because it is still hard to state exactly the volume of petrol consumed locally as different agencies churn out different data.

    The censor monitoring project, he said, will be of benefit to other agencies such as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Department of Petroleum Resuources (DPR), the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    He said: “Till date, it is difficult to determine how much petrol we consume in this country.  Different agencies give you different data and I think it is not neat. By introducing this censor monitoring, we believe it will be able to serve the purpose of answering these questions we are asking around.”

    Bobboi said the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC)  in August, last year to run for three-year, although the work has already commenced.

    He said some of the Information Commmunication Technology (ICT) equipment for the project are already being produced while the contractor has been mobilised to site.

    According to him, before the end of this year, there will be visible landmark of the implementation of the project.

    On railway equalisation, he said the implementation of the government policy on railway programme which was considering the management of the railway system is what the PEF is waiting to see for the modalities.

    Bobboi said the Fund has been discussing the projects with other agencies such as the Products Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Lagos State government, for possible diversification to railway transportation.

    the rates.

    He added that there was also a study on mountain equalisation but the cost for both marine and mountain equalisation was too much for the Fund to fund alone.

    Obasanjo, according to him, directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to actualise the project that required the acquisition of floating badges.

    “The floating barges were constructed. We are still finding a way out in those areas. The committee that worked on the riverine areas claims were settled by NNPC while we paid part of it,” he said, adding that PEF has also started the implementation of Project Aquila Two.

     

  • NASS passes PIGB, imposes 5% fuel levy

    Nigerians will have to pay more for fuel as the National Assembly on Wednesday passed the much touted Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) with 5 percent levy on fuel sold across the country.

    According to the lawmakers, the levy will be used to fund the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) as reflected in the new bill.

    The passage followed the consideration and adoption of the conference committee report on the bill.

    Other sources of financing the PEF, as stated in the bill, include subventions, fees and charges for services rendered as well as net surplus revenue recovered from petroleum products marketing companies.

    The bill empowered the PEF to collect all revenues and levies charged, determine the net surplus revenue recoverable from any oil marketing company and accruing to that company from the sale by it of petroleum products at such uniform prices as may be fixed by the minister and determine the amount of reimbursement due to any oil marketing company for purposes of equalisation of price of products among others.

    It also seeks to provide for the governance and institutional framework for the petroleum industry.

    One of the major highlights of the bill is one seeking to unbundle the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), provide for the establishment of Federal Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated, Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company and National Petroleum Company and Petroleum Equalisation Fund.

    The regulatory bill also seeks to replace the NNPC with the National Petroleum Commission.

     

     

  • FG orders payment of N150bn to petroleum marketers

    FG orders payment of N150bn to petroleum marketers

    The Federal Government on Wednesday ordered the payment of N150 billion Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) owed petroleum marketers in the country.

    The move is aimed at thwarting the imminent threat to steady fuel supply in the country.

    The order for the payment was given at a meeting between the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and key players in the petroleum downstream sector.

    The N150 billion is said to be the bridging cost for the delivery of petroleum products across the country.

    The National Secretary of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Zarma Mustapha, briefed State House correspondents at the end of the closed-door meeting, which lasted about two hours.

    He said: “The meeting had nothing to do with increase in petroleum pump prices.

    “We looked into the issue of diesel and kerosene and as a matter of fact government is tackling the issues.

    “The other issue is the issue of franchise which is the petroleum equalization fund which marketers are owed up to about N150 billion. That issue has been resolved. The government has directed that our monies must be paid and I am assuring you that with the payment of this money there is no cause for alarm.

    “We are assuring our marketers that they should go back to their normal business as their outstanding money will be paid in few days.”

     

  • Update: Buhari sacks heads of 26 government agencies

    Update: Buhari sacks heads of 26 government agencies

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the immediate disengagement of 26 chief executive officers of some government parastatals, agencies and commissions.

    A statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal, said the President approved that the most senior officers in the parastatals, agencies and councils should oversee the activities of the organizations pending the appointment of substantive CEOs.

    The government agencies affected are – Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Others are – the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

    Also affected are – Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and Nigeria Railways Corporation (NRC).

    The Bureau of Public Procurements (BPP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Bank of Industry (BoI), National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic In Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).

     

  • PEF saved $2b for Fed Govt, says ex-boss

    PEF saved $2b for Fed Govt, says ex-boss

    FORMER Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) boss Mrs Adefunke Kasali yesterday said the agency saved more than $2billion through Project Aquila.

    She spoke in Abuja while handing over to the new Executive Secretary, Mr. Asabe Ahmed .

    Project Aquila is a high-tech electronic loading and delivery system introduced by PEF to check leakages in the system, as well as enthrone transparency and due process.

    According to her, PEF has been able to check fraudulent activities among petroleum marketers and ensured transparency in the system through the project.

    She said: “The new initiative, also known as ‘e-loading’ ensures the delivery of petroleum products to the right destination.

    ‘The process has checkmated the annual loss of N15 billion to the activities of some unscrupulous petroleum tanker drivers who engaged in some unethical activities such as diversion of petroleum products.”

    Kasali said the agency had taken a bold step to eliminate corruption and ensure prompt payment of bridging cost through ‘Project Aquila,’ adding  that through the initiative, PEF had detected and stopped payment of more than N847million in fictitious claims by petroleum marketers.

    Kasali said the project had also been able to remove encumbrances that normally caused distortions in the supply chain such as the issue of prompt payment of bridging claims.

    “Just look at the way we designed the business. We saved $2billion upfront because we wrote the codes in-house and how about all the 10s of billions we have saved by people that used to claim them.

    “There was a time when we stopped N847 million worth of fake ticket and all the ones we have been saving ever since,” she said

    Kasali also refuted claims that the board was underpaying some marketers or delaying their payment, saying the PEFMB had been consistent in paying the right claims due to marketers.

    This, she said, was in accordance with their capacity as approved by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    She said: “Those who are complaining are those that the robust Project Aquila has blocked their old ways of “milking’’ the system and are uncomfortable with the new measures imposed to check past abuses.

    “If any marketer said he was not paid, it means we could not confirm that they were loaded so if somebody said his claim has been stocked, it means that they were not loaded.”

    The new Executive Secretary, Mrs Asabe Ahmed lauded the achievement of Kasali and promised to build on the achievement.

    “I can see a team of highly motivated professionals and the efficiency I have seen in the system is due to all of you. I have come to carry on from where she has left off,” she said.

  • Jonathan appoints new PEF chief

    Jonathan appoints new PEF chief

    President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the appointment of Mrs. Asabe Asmau Ahmed as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).

    Ahmed, who is currently the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, takes over from Mrs. Sharon Adefunke Kasali who has been Executive Secretary of PEF since 2007.

    According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, the new PEF Executive Secretary hails from Niger State and holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, respectively.

    “She is expected to put her years of experience in public service to good use in re-engineering, repositioning and re-invigorating PEF for present and future challenges,” the statement reads.

    President Jonathan also approved the appointment of Mr. Denzil Amagbe Kentebe as Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Management Development Board (NCDMB).

    “Mr. Kentebe, an architect with years of experience in strategic planning and policy management, takes over from Engr. Ernest Nwakpa who has been Executive Secretary of the NCDMB since April 2010,” The statement added.

     

     

  • Kenny Martins’ daughter set for altar

    Kenny Martins’ daughter set for altar

    On February 27 and March 1, the high society in Lagos will give two of its own, Kenny Martins and Wole Olanipekun, the moral support they require to make the two days some of the most memorable in their lives. On that day, the high and the mighty in the economic and political sectors will gather in Lagos in honour of Tolu, one of the daughters of top politician and former Chairman of Police Equipment Foundation (PEF), Chief Kenny Martins, and her heartthrob, Bose, son of legal luminary, Chief Wole Olanipekun.

    The event will also parade Nigeria’s top jurists and Senior Advocate of Nigeria colleagues of the groom’s father, Chief Olanipekun. The ceremony will start with engagement on February 27 at Grandeur, Billings Way, Oregun, while the church service will come up at the Redemption Church, Gbagada Expressway on March 1. The church service will be followed by a reception at the famous Harbour point, Victoria, Island, Lagos.

    The imminent wedding has been the talk of the town since late last year when a piece on the events filtered into the media.

  • PEF to pay marketers one week after bridging

    PEF to pay marketers one week after bridging

    Marketers are to receive their payments from the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board one week after submission of their claims for bridging.

    According to the Chairman of House of Representatives committee on Petroleum Downstream, Peterside Dakuku, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has passed first and second readings in the House of Representatives and is with the Ad hoc Committee on PIB.

    He assured that the bill would be passed by the National Assembly before the end of the year.

    While receiving the committee in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation (Management) Board, Mrs. Adefunke Kasali, said the Board pays marketers within four weeks.

    She added that the introduction of ‘Project Aquila 2’ is intended to further fast-track payment to marketers in one week.

    Her words: “We are confident that one week payment of verified claims is achievable. By the time we roll out ‘Project Aquila 2’, which is intended to monitor movement of products from the depots to retail outlets, which will enable us have the required information within a very short period of time, we should be able to make that happen. My job is to extend the charge to my staff to get ready to make that happen and I am sure within a short period of time we will achieve that feat.”

    Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the committee, Peterside Dakuku, stated that the prompt payment of marketers in a very short time would ensure continued availability of petrol in most parts of the country at the approved price.

    He lauded the PEF for reducing corrupt practices in the payment of bridging costs with the introduction of ‘Project Aquila’.

    “We are impressed with ‘Project Aquila’ by PEF and noticed that it has led to the reduction of infractions in the administration of equalisation fund. The committee is convinced that Project Aquila has substantially addressed marketers trying to cut corners. Our concern, as a committee, is to ensure that products are sold at the same price across the country irrespective of closeness or farness from the Niger Delta or coastal areas.”

    Dakuku called on agencies in the oil and gas sector to gear up for re-positioning on how to fit into the new regime that PIB passage would midwife.

    “Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is almost in transition to another phase, which is post-Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) phase. In the next one-year, we expect to have a new legal framework governed by the PIB. Therefore, there is urgent need to reposition the PEF otherwise it will find it difficult to survive and perform its functions when the PIB takes effect”, he added.

  • Unregistered trucks will no longer lift petroleum products – PEF

    The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) at the weekend said that unregistered trucks would no longer be allowed to lift petroleum products at depots.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Goddy Nnadi, the General Manager, Corporate Services of PEF, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

    The statement said a five-pronged strategy had been implemented by PEF Management Board to quicken the compulsory registration and tagging of trucks used in moving products under the Project Aquila.

    It said the project would begin in January.

    “Under the plan, the Information Technology Systems in the organisation have been upgraded to ensure faster processing and tagging of trucks used in the movement of petroleum products nationwide.

    “Staffers of the IT unit have also undergone special training for better and more efficient service delivery. Trucks not tagged will not be allowed to bridge products in any depot,” it said.

    The statement said that registration and tagging of trucks would now be decentralised to designated centres in the six geo-political zones to reduce stress on marketers and transporters.

    It noted that documentation processes had been streamlined and paper work reduced drastically.

    The statement added that tagging teams would work simultaneously at the various zones to ensure that marketers are not delayed unduly.

    It said that marketers were now to file applications for the registration and tagging of their trucks at the various depots.

    The statement said that the processing of such applications by the Customer Care Unit had been limited to two working days only.

    It explained that the measures were being implemented to ensure speedy service delivery to petroleum marketers.

    “Project Aquila is the high-tech electronic loading and delivery system implemented by the Board to check leakages in the system as well as enthrone transparency and due process, ” the statement said.

  • Unregistered trucks will no longer lift petroleum products —PEF

    Abuja, Jan. 3, 2014 (NAN) The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) on Friday said that unregistered trucks would no longer be allowed to lift petroleum products at depots.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Goddy Nnadi, the General Manager, Corporate Services of PEF, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

    The statement that said a five–pronged strategy had been implemented by PEF Management Board to quicken the compulsory registration and tagging of trucks used in moving products under the Project Aquila.

    It said the project would begin in January.

    “Under the plan, the Information Technology Systems in the organisation have been upgraded to ensure faster processing and tagging of trucks used in the movement of petroleum products nationwide.

    “Staffers of the IT unit have also undergone special training for better and more efficient service delivery. Trucks not tagged will not be allowed to bridge products in any depot,” it said.

    The statement said that registration and tagging of trucks would now be decentralised to designated centres in the six geo-political zones to reduce stress on marketers and transporters.

    It noted that documentation processes had been streamlined and paper work reduced drastically.

    The statement added that tagging teams would work simultaneously at the various zones to ensure that marketers are not delayed unduly.

    It said that marketers were now to file applications for the registration and tagging of their trucks at the various depots.

    The statement said that the processing of such applications by the Customer Care Unit had been limited to two working days only.

    It explained that the measures were being implemented to ensure speedy service delivery to petroleum marketers.

    “Project Aquila is the high-tech electronic loading and delivery system implemented by the Board to check leakages in the system as well as enthrone transparency and due process, “ the statement said.

    It noted that contrary to insinuations that marketers’ payments were being delayed, project Aquila has facilitated the availability of Petroleum products across the country due to prompt payment of claims.

    The statement also dismissed the claims that the Board was underpaying some marketers.

    It stressed that the PEF Management Board had been consistent in paying the claims due to marketers in accordance with their capacity as approved by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    “Those who are complaining are those that the robust Project Aquila has blocked their old ways of ‘milking the system’, and are uncomfortable with the new measures imposed to check the abuses of the past,’’ the statement said.