Momodou Hydara, The Managing Director Of Jah Oil Company
By Ramatoulie Jawo
Momodou Hydara, the Managing Director of Jah Oil Company, appeared before the National Assembly Joint Committee of Finance and Public Accounts, and the Public Enterprises Committee, on Monday, to provide his testimony regarding the 36,953.614 metric tons of petroleum products saga worth $30 million.
During his testimony, Hydara explained how his institution came to know about Creed Energy through Apogee FZC.
“Yes, Creed Energy, we came to know about Creed Energy, which, I think, is the latter part of 2023, if my memory serves me right. And the only way we know about them is through Apogee, a company that sells petroleum products as an importer or a trader into the country. And we buy petroleum products from Apogee, the invoice and receipt are issued by Creed Energy,” he said.
Hon. Kebba Lang Fofana, a committee member, asked Hydara who informed them about Apogee having sufficient stock at the depot.
Hydara responded that when Apogee came to the country, it was not a secret. For them, as an Oil Marketing Company (OMC), information is shared quickly.
“So if somebody knows about product availability somewhere or anything, it goes around very quickly. We even have a group chat, where we sometimes share information. So immediately we knew there was a new actor in the depot called Apogee that had enough stock in those tanks. So that is how, when we were running out of products for PSTV, and then we also saw a new person, we could purchase products from them quickly. Then we said, let us get some from them to keep our stations running until we can find another supplier,” he told the committee.
MD Hydara mentioned that he was eventually directed to Apogee’s representative in the country, who resides in a hotel, though he cannot remember the name.
Hon. Kebba Lang then asked him to provide details about his institution’s transactions with Apogee.
In response, MD Hydara explained that Jah Oil reached out using a contact number they had and expressed their interest. Apogee’s representative then inquired about the desired quantity, which his company provided.
“That is the first transaction, but I cannot remember the quantity. And then, when we told him (Apogee’s Representative), we had an invoice, plus the bank details on it, and then that is when we first showed Creed Energy on it. And then I said, Well, how is it that Apogee, and now it’s Creed? And they said Creed Is the local brand, or the local representative that is doing the transaction in the country. I don’t want to find out or go much into detail as to why Creed is creeping up the instant of Apogee being the person bearing back to it’s an internal market for them. For us, what is important is that we want products, and they’re available,” he highlighted.
Hon. Fofana asked MD Hydara, “Who sends the Creed Energy invoice?” MD Hydara replied that it is usually sent via email.
Hon. Fofana then inquired if MD Hydara confirmed the invoice’s authenticity with Apogee’s representative upon receiving it.
MD Hydara responded, “Of course, I had to ask questions when we received an invoice for the first time. They assured us it was not an issue, as it was from the same company, which put our minds at ease, and we proceeded.”
Hon. Fofana also asked MD Hydara if he was familiar with Ultimate Beige Logistics. MD Hydara answered that he does not know anything about Ultimate Beige Logistics.
“The one I am familiar with and the few transactions we have is Creed Energy; I don’t know anything about Ultimate Beige logistics,” he said.
Hon. Fofana asked MD Hydara why he found it unusual that Jah Oil received an invoice from Creed Energy rather than Apogee.
” To be very honest, I want to tell you my honest opinion for us when we were told Apogee owns the products, and then now Apogee is telling you it is okay for Creed Energy to do the transaction because it is the local company. So for us, what we’re just thinking is maybe this is their representative in the country; that is what goes to our mind; maybe they are not registered and Creed is registered,” he said.
He mentioned that this is the first time he has encountered a transaction involving a trader in this manner.
Hon. Fofana inquired about the current status of Apogee, and MD Hydara responded that while they view Apogee as traders when purchasing from them, they also recognize them as effective distributors.
Hon. Fofana then asked MD Hydara if he knew which oil marketing company had requested services from Apogee, or if there was an initial customer or OMC that Apogee was dealing with upon their arrival in the country.
MD Hydara replied that he was not aware of any OMC that had introduced Apogee into the country and suggested that perhaps the depot might have that information if available.
MD Hydara also noted that Apogee has presented challenges for registered Oil Marketing Companies in the country during this period.
“We all know that the Gambia Petroleum Depot is a very small depot by capacity, and they can only store a very limited amount of product. For all the Oil Marketing Companies that are registered in the Gambia, that’s where they should store their products for onward distribution. What became very disheartening was when we realized that one player who very little is known about has been given a very high percentage of the depot. If not all the stores, and that’s where we had a problem because we were struggling to bring in vessels to store like we used to do,” he claimed.
He stated that according to their license and mandate, they are authorized to import and store goods. However, it becomes challenging each time they face rejection.
Hon. Fofana inquired if there were any specific reasons for the rejection. Hydara responded that the only explanation they receive is that there is no available space.
“So when this thing becomes obvious that rejections are becoming too much, that is when we monitor the situation from a personal point of view to make sure we know whether it is actually true that there is no storage space left, and the only way we knew this was by monitoring the stock daily report. And Apogee was having almost over 80% of the space or more, and the Oil marketing companies (OMCs) couldn’t have space, especially the major OMCs like ourselves (Jah Oil Company), who have been honouring fuel in this country on a regular basis, and it becomes a very mind-blowing that actually that any time we apply we are rejected. And even if there is a space at some point we are rejected, so it was mind-blowing to just realize that it is wrong. It has never been denounced,” he said.