The National Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) has decried the recent introduction of tax on diesel, lamenting that the move has forced the price of the product to skyrocket to N950 up from N600.

Briefing newsmen at a press conference in Abuja, Mr. Benneth Korie, National President of NOGASA, said if government does not move fast to checkmate the rising dollar rate, the fuel pump price may continue to rise.

He said that before the FIRS started talking about tax on diesel, the price was within the range of N600 but suddenly jumped to between N920 and N950 due to the introduction of the new tax regime on the product.

The NOGASA boss also called for the urgent intervention on the dollar rate which, he said, would destroy a lot of things if government does not intervene.

Korie said: “The tax the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) introduced on diesel has affected the diesel market in Nigeria. Today, as we speak, diesel in the market is going for from N920 to N950. Before the talk about the tax diesel was going for N600 or thereabouts.

“Another issue, is the dollar rate, we suggest the Federal Government should move into action, call on the bureau de change (BDCs) agents, and bank chiefs on a table. The only way out is to call the BDCs, banks managing directors, let them sit with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, who will tell them a uniform price for dollar. Don’t sale more than this price. This is because the way the dollar rate is going it will destroy a lot of things for us.

“Again, I will talk about the refinery which is the major problem in Nigeria. There is a need that Nigeria deploys local content. Let me use this example, we have qualified, good engineers, get them together, let them go to these refineries, for how many years now we have been talking about refineries, it is human beings that built these refineries and we have engineers in this country.

“Let them go there, find out the problem and fix it. Even though we know they are old, they can fix them. If Nigerian government takes this matter seriously, I believe Nigerian engineers can fix the refineries. We have machines in Nigeria that can assist them to get these things fixed. Instead of depending on foreigners and spending billions of naira so often without achieving anything. If the refineries were there even with the subsidy removal, I believe that would have cushioned the effect to a level”, he said.

On the issue of the dilapidated roads, the NOGASA chief executive said the state of the roads infrastructure is adversely affecting the life span of trucks of members, stressing “every day we are importing trucks but they don’t last”.

According to him, there is a limit to what the mechanics can fix when the roads are so bad and trucks and cars get bad so very frequently.

He expressed optimism that once the roads infrastructure are improved upon and made motorable, the rate of trucks importation would drastically reduce, and the dollars used for these importation would be saved for other things.

Korie said NOGASA has recorded loss of lives, loss trucks, and truck drivers have been kidnapped due to bad roads, especially along East West road axis.(Daily Independent)

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