Servicing my Singer 4552 SW and is this gunk supposed to be there?

It was my grandmother's machine, and as far as I'm aware, no one has ever serviced this. So is this old oil? If so, how do I go about removing it? I have plenty of lubricant to replace with, but I'm not sure how to safely go about taking off this here if I need to.

It was my grandmother's machine, and as far as I'm aware, no one has ever serviced this. So is this old oil? If so, how do I go about removing it? I have plenty of lubricant to replace with, but I'm not sure how to safely go about taking off this here if I need to.

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