Indigenous ship owners have lambasted the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke over her claim that 60 per cent of oil lifting contracts for 2014 have been awarded to shipping companies owned by Nigerians.
The indigenous ship owners under the aegis of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) claimed that the statement from the minister is misleading challenging her to publish the names of the shipping companies that benefited in the said contract.
Speaking at a press briefing the association Chairman, Chief Isaac Jolapamo said that if the shipping companies’ names were published, it would demonstrate government transparency and openness.
In his words, “We humbly ask the Minister of Petroleum resources to review the list of successful oil traders and publish the names of the Nigerian shipping companies alongside the Nigerian oil traders that benefitted from the contract”, He said.
He stressed that the association had made series of attempts to get clarification on the statement attributed to the Minister but there were no replied by her office.
Jolapamo added that the association is convinced that no Nigerian registered companies have been engaged by the oil traders for the carriage of the crude oil has said by the minister.
“In line with the Nigerian oil and gas industry content development act, part of the condition to grant the right to lift the Nigerian crude oil to the traders is that they must work with Nigerian ship owners for the carriage contract in other to develop the Nigerian shipping industry and to create employment opportunity for the teeming unemployed youths.
“Nigerian crude oil has always been done on fob basis from inception, each administration decides on who he gives its own allocation to and what we have been saying is that we need to carry these product but if the government want to go away from the past by appointing Nigerians to carry it we don’t know how they will do it but they should also know that whoever is lifting must lift with Nigerian vessels and that is the carriage side which need to be addressed”, He explained.