By Emmanuel Nduka
Members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives have called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to suspend the four companies that are guilty of recently importing adulterated fuel into the country.
A Committee on Petroleum Downstream was mandated by the House to investigate the release and sale of the off-spec Premium Motor Spirit by petrol stations across the country and to bring the culprits to book.
Chief Whip of the House, Mohammed Monguno, raised the issue on Thursday as a motion of urgent public importance.
Heritage Times had on Wednesday reported that the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari explained how ‘adulterated’ Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from Belgium and listed the companies – MRS, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium, Oando, and Duke Oil as those responsible.
He said NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in PMS cargoes of the companies.
Meanwhile, Members of the House of Reps during the plenary on Thursday also expressed concern over the effect of that adulterated petrol on vehicles and how the cost of transportation, goods, and service has increased.
The lawmakers lamented that the system is completely compromised, considering the processes which the fuel must go through before reaching the fuel stations.
Thus, they asked that Nigerians whose vehicles and equipment were directly affected by the adulterated fuel be compensated.
CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) Farouk Ahmed, had also explained that methanol quantity above Nigeria’s specification was discovered in a supply chain, which was later isolated.
Sequel to this, the country’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, therefore announced that there will be a major investigation to unravel the cause of the unsafe quantity of methanol in petrol imported into the country.
