December 14, 2024

Olatunbosun’s vision to turnaround NALPGAM as he emerges President

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…his vision to safeguard gas stations

Oredola Adeola

Following its successful 34th Annual General Meeting(AGM) last Wednesday, the Nigerian Association of Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers(NALPGAM), a body of professionals and investors in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), popularly called cooking gas, is now set for a paradigm shift now that Mr. Oladapo Olatunbosun has emerged as its new President, with Barrister Edu Inyang, as Deputy President in a keenly contested election held at Lagos Marriot Hotel.

The new National President was the former Deputy President of the association, he took over from former President of the Association Barrister Nosa Ogieva-Okunbor, as the new administration is expected to run the affairs of the Association for the next two years based on its constitution.

Highlighting his vision for the association, Olatunbosun told EnergyDay, that his is to prioritise safety of members’ gas plants and trucks. He added that more commitment will be given to ensure that members of NALPGAM comply with all the safety measures.

He said, “They would be encouraged to ensure that no case of fire incident relating to LPG industry is recorded again. We will do all we need to do ensure that recommendation of the relevant government agencies are complied with, especially in the area of safety and training. We will entrench persuasion and standing relationship with the regulators.

“We will be setting up technical committee of the association in the next few days, that will liaise with all members to ensure compliance with safety measures and operational procedure for accident free operation.

“More attention will be given to running our business profitably. Recall that our first priority is to stay afloat and make returns. We will make sure our members earn justified returns on their investment.

“We will ensure that the operational environment is so conducive for our members to thrive. This has to do with gas purchase price and over head cost.

“Over head cost has become a critical issue within the downstream sector of the LPG. The inflation rate, administrative charges and other cost from the regulators are also impacting on the bottom-line of the marketers.

“So as an association, we will see what we can do to fight double taxation and other irrelevant dues. We understand Government has to do its job and we understand they need revenue but that should not be at the detriment of the marketers.

” We will do we can in our capacity to avoid unauthorised and illegitimate levies so that these will not kill our businesses.

“We are equally looking at accuracy as it is one of the challenges we are facing, even at the terminal where marketers are usually short-loaded.

” Sometimes at the terminal, your truck is short-loaded with about 300kg out of 20metric tonnes – that’s a lot of money.

“ We will be more vocal about this and deal decisively with terminal owners, by ensuring that they always check their systems and avoid cheating.

“NALPGAM members would also be monitored to avoid cheating retailers and end users when refilling. 1kg must be 1kg nothing less. One good turn deserves another’ – no consumer must be cheated. If you are not cheated where you purchase LPG, you should not cheat when dispensing.

“Our administration would also be focusing on expanding our membership base. I will ensure that we widen our tentacles and bring more member on board.

“There are a lot of people operating plants that do not meet the required standards set by the regulator. We will available to helping them meet regulatory standards by solving their challenges, at both state and federal levels. It is only when we help them solve these challenges. Number matters in anything, so we are going increase our membership so that the government can take us serious.

The NALPGAM President assured LPG consumers of the association’s plan to continue to monitor the progress of the economy, reduce the retail prices of the cooking gas. He further assured that the Petroleum Industry Act will reduce regulatory interference that would allow prices to be determined by demand and supply.

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