There is no doubt that deregulation is at the front burner of the Federal Government’s reform agenda.
The deregulation policy has allowed many players to gain various level of authority and improved activities in the sector.
From the activities of the International Oil Companies (IOC’S) to Dangote Refinery and the National Association of the Surface Tank Oil and Gas Retailers of Nigeria (NASTOGRN), the story is the same.
However, as the headline suggested, the focus of this article is about incorporating the services of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) in to the sensitisation programme of NASTOGRN for optimal service delivery to Nigerians.
This idea is the brainchild of the Chairman, Board of Trustees of NASTOGRN, Dr. Marcus Okotete during one of his sensitisation tours in the south east region.
Dr. Okotete emphasized the need for a beneficial partnership between the Federal Fire Service, a principal agency of the Federal Government saddled with the responsibility of mitigating, preventing and extinguishing fire outbreaks and other emergency incidences across the country and the National Association of Surface Tank Oil and Gas Retailers of Nigeria (NASTOGRN).
NASTOGRN is a registered organization endorsed by the Federal Government to engage in the surface tank aspects of marketing and distribution of petroleum products like the PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) AGO (Automobile Gas Oil) DPK (Dual Purpose Keresone) LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) among others in Nigeria especially in the rural and the suburb areas of the country.
Since inception, the organization has been on top of it’s mandate as it has rallied various players and stakeholders in the industry to supporting the activities of surface tank dealers in Nigeria who before now had no voice.
Accordingly, the association recently launched a nationwide sensitisation programme to enlighten Nigerians on the need to take advantage of the deregulation policy and mainstream their activities in accordance with the legal frameworks supporting their operations while also showing them especially the unemployed youth the inherent opportunities they can explore with little capital as everything about the oil and gas sector is not about millions and billions.
With the launch of the programme in Abakaliki in July this year and with the sensitisation train of the organization stopping at Enugu on September 20, 2024, there is the need for the Federal Fire Service to get involved in line with the public enlightenment aspect of the law establishing it.
Federal Fire Service provides service of necessity to Nigerians and not service of choice.
Now that the public sensitisation platform has been provided by the leadership of NASTOGRN, it is expected that the management of the Federal Fire Service will enter into a partnership agreement with the association to use it’s platform to enlighten Nigerians especially the small scale player of the sector on the need for safety measures especially as we are about entering the dry season.
Such initiative would not only benefit NASTOGRN and it’s members but the generality of Nigerians who always get trapped in the web of unforseen fire incidents during cry seasons.
Mr. Edwin Emeka writes from Abuja.
