BY Usman Ibn A. Lapai
Kaduna
The Association of Bitumen Marketers and distribution of Nigeria (AMBIM) has called on the federal government to bring down the price of Bitumen from over 147,000.00 to 80,000.00 in tune with international price.
The Vice Chairman of the Association, Mr. Fred Nyahamma a press briefing in Kaduna said that if the price to be bring down it will enable the association to create jobs to the youths empowerment programme.
He said that the importation of bitumen constituted a serious economic loss to PPMC by extension, the Federal Government of Nigeria, adding that the “massive importation of Bitumen is exportation of jobs and growing the economies of other economics at the expense of our own country.”
The vice chairman explained that currently, Nigeria’s annual consumption of Bitumen is a little over 500,000 metric tons, adding that Nigeria should not have any business importing Bitumen.
“If we must import Bitumen when it is absolutely inevitable, it must not be at the detriment of our locally produced Bitumen and the economic, saying instead the government should do everything possible to protect Nigeria Bitumen products.”
He urged the federal government to encourage Kaduna refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in all ramifications to enhance local production.
The association said it was regrettable that Nigeria has suddenly become a Bitumen importing country, instead of exporting the product which Kaduna KRPC was designed to achieve because of a few selfish individuals.
He further said KRPC was constructed by Chiyoda of Japan and was the only refinery in West Africa that has a Bitumen plant and was designed to produce the requirement of Nigeria and the excess exported to other African country Mr.Nyabam.
The association expressed disappointment over how Nigeria losses over N300,000,000,000.00 annually to massive importation of Bitumen to the determinant of locally product.
