The Managing Director of Jah Oil Company, Momodou Hydara, testified on Monday before the Public Enterprises Committee and the National Assembly Joint Committee of Finance and Public Accounts about the $30 million petroleum products scandal involving 36,953.614 metric tons.
Hydara gave a detailed account of how Apogee FZC introduced his institution to Creed Energy during his testimony.
Yes, Creed Energy, that’s how we learned about them. If my memory serves me correctly, that would be in the latter half of 2023. And Apogee, a business that imports and trades petroleum products into the nation, is the only way we are aware of them. Additionally, we purchase petroleum products from Apogee; Creed Energy issues the invoice and receipt for these purchases.
A committee member named Hon. Kebba Lang Fofana questioned Hydara, who said Apogee had enough inventory in the depot.
In response, Hydara said that it was not a secret when Apogee arrived in the nation. Since they are an Oil Marketing Company (OMC), they disseminate information swiftly.
Thus, information regarding a product’s availability anywhere or anything spreads swiftly. We even communicate with each other in a group chat on occasion. We so learned right away that Apogee, a new actor in the depot, had enough stock in those tanks. This is how we were able to swiftly get things from them when we ran out of PSTV supplies and also noticed a new person. The committee was then advised, “Let us get some from them to keep our stations running until we can find another supplier.”
Eventually, MD Hydara said, he was put in contact with Apogee’s national representative—whose name he cannot recall—who lives in a hotel.
He was then prompted by Hon. Kebba Lang to elaborate on the specifics of his organization’s dealings with Apogee.
MD Hydara responded by stating that Jah Oil had indicated interest and had contacted them using a contact number they had. The person from Apogee then asked for the required quantity, which his business gave.
“I can’t recall the amount, but that was the first transaction. Then, we revealed to him (Apogee’s Representative) that we had an invoice with the bank details on it, at which point we initially displayed Creed Energy. I subsequently said, “Well, how come it was Apogee and now it’s Creed?” They went on to say that Creed is the national brand or local agent handling the deal. I’m not interested in learning the reason behind Creed’s sneaky appearance at Apogee’s expense, as it seems to be an internal market for them. He emphasized, “For us, the most important thing is that the products we want are available.”
MD Hydara was questioned by Hon. Fofana, “Who sends the Creed Energy invoice?” To which MD Hydara said, “Normally, it’s sent via email.”
Hon. Fofana then asked if, after receiving the invoice, MD Hydara had checked its legitimacy with a representative of Apogee.
“Of course, I had to ask questions when we received an invoice for the first time,” MD Hydara replied. We were reassured that it wouldn’t be a problem because it was from the same company, so we moved forward.
Also, MD Hydara was questioned by Hon. Fofana on his familiarity with Ultimate Beige Logistics. In response, MD Hydara stated that he was unaware of Ultimate Beige Logistics.
“Creed Energy is the one I know and the few transactions we have; I don’t know anything about Ultimate Beige logistics,” the man remarked.
The reason MD Hydara thought it strange that Jah Oil received an invoice from Creed Energy instead of Apogee was the question Hon. Fofana posed to him.
Since Apogee told us it owned the products, I would like to be completely honest with you about my honest assessment of the situation. Apogee now claims that since Creed Energy is a local business, the deal can proceed. Therefore, all that’s going through our minds is, “Maybe this is their national representative? Perhaps they’re not registered while Creed is,” he added.
He said that this is the first time he has come across a trader transaction done in this way.
When Hon. Fofana asked about Apogee’s current situation, MD Hydara replied that although they see Apogee as traders when they buy from them, they also acknowledge them as efficient distributors.
Hon. Fofana then questioned MD Hydara about whether he was aware of the name of the oil marketing firm that had contacted Apogee for services, as well as if Apogee had an initial client or OMC upon entering the nation.
In response, MD Hydara said he was not aware of any OMC that had brought Apogee into the nation, but if such information was available, he might be able to find it at the depot.
Additionally, MD Hydara mentioned that throughout this time, Apogee has posed difficulties for the nation’s licensed oil marketing companies.
As everyone is aware, the Gambia Petroleum Depot has a very little storage capacity and can only hold a very modest quantity of goods. That is where all Oil Marketing Companies with Gambia registrations should keep their goods in order to distribute them elsewhere. The realization that one player, about whom not much is known, had been allocated a sizable portion of the depot became quite depressing. If not every store, and that’s where we ran into trouble because we couldn’t bring in as many vessels to store as we used to,” he asserted.
He said that they are permitted to import and keep products in accordance with their mandate and licensing. But every time they encounter rejection, it gets harder.
Hon. Fofana asked if the denial had any particular justifications. In response, Hydara said that the only rationale they are given is that there isn’t any room.
“Therefore, we personally monitor the situation to ensure that we know whether it is true that there is no storage space available, and the only way we knew this was by watching the stock daily report, when it becomes evident that rejections are getting excessive. The oil marketing companies (OMCs), particularly the larger ones like us (Jah Oil Company), who have been honoring fuel in this nation on a regular basis, were unable to find space because Apogee occupied almost 80% of the space or more. It is astounding that every time we apply, we are turned down. And even if there is a place, we are eventually rejected, so realizing that it is incorrect was shocking. No one has ever denounced it, he claimed
