NNPC/Capital Oil kero-direct scheme kicks off in 10 states

Direct sale of kerosene to consumers, a collaborative effort between the  Nigerian National Petroleum  Corporation (NNPC) and Capital Oil and Gas, has kicked off in ten states, while other states will also enjoy the benefits soon. However, the scheme this time, will require the involvement of the state and local governments.

The Kero-Direct Scheme is aimed at ensuring making sure the product is made available to vast majority of Nigerians and to generate additional direct employments for Nigerians.
According to the managing director of the Capital Oil and Gas, Ifeanyi Ubah, the company is taking a review of  the scheme, adding  that the sales started in Ondo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Kano and Jigawa States this week. “We have commenced sales of kerosene directly to the people at the grassroots in about 10 states of the federation which kick starts this week. The NNPC/Kero-Direct scheme has continued its spread throughout Nigeria with distribution of kerosene to end users at N50 a litre,’’ he said.

He said the Kero-Direct scheme had made the company to employ additional 557 youths, while it has penciled down another 158 employments before the completion of the distribution. “Under the arrangement, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, provides the product that will be sold to end users at the official rate of N50 per litre, while the product is being dispensed through the use of Capital Oil dispensing trucks,” he said.

The Capital Oil boss said the issue of middlemen has been completely taken care of as the sale is restricted to 25 litres to each household, adding that the sales of the product would be judiciously distributed to Nigerians as stipulated. He further said that his company had been very concerned about the difficulty in getting kerosene for domestic use. “It is in response to this that the company came up with this innovation of deploying mobile filling stations with standard dispensing pumps to deliver kerosene at official price of N50 per litre to Nigerians,” he said.

The scheme, according to him, will afford consumers greater access to the product with a view to reducing the use of charcoal and fire woods, which are hazardous to health. He lauded the initiative of Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister, Petroleum Resources, and the NNPC, for their good intention to provide kerosene to end-users through truck dispensing.

Ubah said the challenge of ending kerosene scarcity and ensuring uninterrupted supply of the product was one that could be handled through consistent investments in infrastructure.

Source: Businessdayonline