THE recurring allegations in the petroleum products industry about the sale of domestic kerosene by some unscrupulous marketers to unsuspecting airlines as aviation fuel are worrisome and should be of concern to the government and industry operators. The claim should not be regarded as totally baseless, until it is otherwise established, in order to avert possible unpleasant consequences that may arise.If true, the unwholesome practice of diverting or converting fuel products in such a sensitive sector could only emanate from greed of the few marketers who have little or no regard for human lives that are thus put at risk. However, such acts would amount to criminality on the part of the culprits. This should not be allowed in any sane society.In any case, the illegal conversion or diversion of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) to aviation fuel (JET-A1) merely conveys a general picture of sharp practices allegedly perpetrated by a cartel in the oil industry, which the government itself confirmed. In fact, the government's claims on the cartel's rip-off, put at over one trillion naira, form the fulcrum of its current vigorous campaign for subsidy removal, which was put into effect two days ago. No doubt, sterner measures are required to deal with infractions like diversion of fuel products.According to reports, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Association of Petroleum Products Marketers (APPM) complained in separate petitions to the government that the attraction for the perpetrators of the crime is the huge profit between selling JET-A1 at N152 per litre as against the N50 per litre market value of domestic kerosene (where available).Worse still, the APPM alleged that the illegal sale is from the allocation to a named marketer from the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). President Goodluck Jonathan who is believed to be in receipt of the official complaint should instigate an investigation into the complaint with a view to getting to the root of it and acting appropriately to deter similar actions. At this stage of the country's development, the authorities clearly have a duty to expose saboteurs and save the citizenry from economic perdition.The investigation should not foreclose the possibility of sharp practice by officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on the kerosene sale. Rather, there should be a heightening of the monitoring processes to ascertain that the department's staffers are not compromised. The 'several measures' that DPR outlined as checks on illegal diversions and conversions can only be effective if the department keeps the pressure on marketers. The management should also not be carried away by reports of its so-called watchdogs at depots as they can be susceptible to manipulations.Attempts in some quarters to justify the diversion, on the ground that the brand of kerosene imported into the country could run on aircraft, is unacceptable, as long as the product was not refined for that purpose. Marketers should not be encouraged to engage in mixing of chemicals as such could be an invitation to disaster.The investigation should also cover airline technical operators. What quality control measures do they employ to ascertain the grade of fuel being pumped into aircraft tanks, and to ensure safety of flights' Could some of their operational staff members be colluding with marketers for personal gains'Petroleum products, whether diverted, converted, adulterated or carelessly handled have caused unquantifiable human and material losses to the nation in the past, for example through explosions occasioning deaths and permanent disability to entire families. Could the current allegation have something to do with such incidents, given that it had been difficult to trace the merchants of death'Amid the present security challenges facing the government, the country can do without disastrous distractions arising from illegal mix of fuel in the aviation sector. If sanity must prevail, government must identify desperate businessmen who are out to exploit illegal means of becoming millionaires overnight, at the peril of other people.Industry regulatory bodies including the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the DPR have an onerous task to monitor marketers. Government should spare no effort, including amendments of the agencies' statutes, to deal with sharp practices. Airline operation is too sensitive to allow sloppiness. A situation whereby a marketer would show up on the tarmac to supply fake 'JET-A1' to airlines, as if in a motor garage, is detestable. Regulatory authorities should insist on the highest operating standards for all airline operators, in the interest of air travellers.
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