The decrease of the Naira and other issues have scuttled operations and investment in the downstream sector, as revealed by the Major Energy Maketers Association of Nigeria MEMAN, yesterday.

According to Clement Isong, the executive Secretary/CEO of MEMAN, at the media forum in Lagos, whom stated that the uncertainty in the foreign exchange (forex) market has hindered members from effective marketing of petrol nationwide.

Adding that, though marketers receive products from Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL retail, payments on ship-to-ship offload is done in USDollars, which push up cost each time exchange rate rises.

“We are presently concerned about sustainability, efficiencies and affordability of energy for Nigerians and we are encouraging shift to energy transition specifically into gas space,”  he stated.

According to him, although the Federal Government has been faithful in its avowed intervention process since it exited the petrol subsidy regime, yet the dollarization policy is weakening the industry and discouraging investment, which he blamed mostly on fluctuating dollar movement and unpredictability of the rate.

Speaking as well, Adelanke Bayo-Adepoju, a specialist at MEMAN for gas and renewable energy, examined the advantages of switching to compressed natural gas, or CNG, as an alternative to gasoline.

According to her, there have been coordinated attempts to convert around one million cars to run on the fuel by 2027, and more than 1,000 dialogue workshops have been established nationwide.