Shareholders have said that a volatile petroleum downstream market, coupled with foreign exchange challenges facing quoted firms in the country, will further aggravate the woes of the companies.
The shareholders, who spoke in separate interviews, stated that rising fuel cost would continue to push up operating expenditures for companies, which would in turn affect profitability and the amount of dividend that would accrue to shareholders at the end of the day.
They, therefore, urged the different agencies of government responsible for monitoring the activities of oil marketers, including the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and the Department of Petroleum Resources, to intensify their operations and ensure that market rules were strictly adhered to.
The President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie, told our correspondent that rising energy cost was impacting negatively on the performances of corporate institutions, and the earlier the government stabilised the operations of the petroleum market, the better it would be for business.
“Small businesses that need little amount of petrol to operate are not finding it easy, how much more firms that consume huge quantum on a daily basis. Something must be done now to stop the mess,” he said.
But the Assistant General Manager/Head, Lagos Zonal Office, PPPRA, Mr. Soji Soloye, said the agency had started its own monitoring in the Lagos metropolis, where most corporate organisations are operating from, and was not leaving the job to the DPR alone.
He said over 25 petrol filling stations in Lagos had been visited as of last week, adding that the target was to inspect as many as possible to ensure that Nigerians did not pay beyond the official pump price.
Source:© Copyright Punch Online
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