Deziani Alison-Madueke Proxy in $400m Demurrage Scandal

  In spite of the seeming moves to sanitise the downstream sub-sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Deziani-Alison Madueke can no longer continue to feign ignorance and non-complicity in the many messy deals perpetrated by  the Managing Director of Pipeline and Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), all under her ministry.  

  The activities of the leadership of the Pipeline and Production Marketing Company (PPMC) have degenerated to a barefaced sabotage of the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and the welfare of the entire nation.  

  Investigations by huhuonline.com / reveals that the PPMC Managing Director, Mr. Sam Okeke in collusion with some foreign vessels owners recently to stalled the discharge of petroleum products imported by the NNPC until the payment of a purported $400 million demurrage incurred by the corporation.  

  The demurrage, according to industry sources was spiked by the PPMC manipulation through deliberate delay of the foreign vessels on the high sea before the management of PPMC issued approval to discharge into various coastal depots in Lagos.  

  'It is possible for the vessels to discharge at Atlas Cove without incurring huge demurrage even if the existing private depots being used by the corporation under arrangement have enough vessels discharging fuel', he lamented. It take takes an average of six hours for a vessel of 33.000 metric tonnes to discharge. The vessels are deliberately being made to stay for a long time on the high sea before discharging petroleum products on the excuse of no space while in actual fact the true intents of the PPMC is rake in scandalously criminal dividends as demurrage.  

  An official of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources who spoke to huhuonline.com under anonymity hinted that the private company engaged by PPMC and charged with the responsibility of settling vessel owners for their services, also delay payment of demurrage and by so doing create shortage of premium motor spirit (PMS) or gasoline at the depots.  

  According to the source, the gradual return of long queues at filling stations was enough ground to compel the Petroleum Ministry to grant immediate payment of the debt. This, he added was to ensure that the vessel owners comply with the sharing formula of 40:60 between the parties as agreed.  This implies that for every extra day stayed by the vessel, the owner will collect 60 per cent of the $10,000 charged as demurrage per day.  

  The scenario infers that for the PPMC boss, Sam Okeke who has the run of all the jetties to have continued in his primitive spoliation without any known word or action of reprimand against him by the Petroleum minister points to the fact that he may after all be kicking over some funds the way of Diezanni Alison Madueke who seems to have found it more convenient to look the other way why the industry she superintends nose- dives courtesy of their multi-million dollar demurrage racket.  

  It therefore implies that with the outrageous demurrage bills heaped on the Federal Government, servicing of oil subsidy would become a financial burden and further make it impossible for the NNPC to operate profitably and commercially in line with the transformation agenda initiated by the former Group Managing Director, Eng. Funso Kupolokun and the aspirations of the Federal Government embodied in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which is presently before the National Assembly.  

  Same NNPC cabal benefiting from the demurrage racket which industry stakeholders are beginning to view as a routine rip-off, are leading the anti-PIB campaign at the National Assembly.  

  Consequently, if there is no immediate intervention, the NNPC may in the long run revert to merely serving the criminal interest of a powerful syndicate instead of the greater interest of majority of Nigerians.    

  Recall that as soon as Mrs. Dezeani Alison Madueke was reassigned to the Petroleum ministry, she fired many top management staffs, considered not loyal to her course, and hired her proxies. Though she gave no official reason for the reorganization, huhuonline.com learnt that in Honorable minister`s estimation, things were bad at NNPC, thus required reforms.

  Unbeknownst to Nigerians, in the past four months, one area that has witnessed conspicuous reforms is the foreign bank accounts of her proxies, who are alleged to be kicking a huge portion of the corruptly obtained largesse to madam minister.