Fuel Scarcity: Lawmakers Tell NNPC To Suspend Companies Who Import Bad Fuel

Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives have called for the immediate suspension of the four firms that imported bad fuel into the country.

House of Representative members said this after they passed a resolution to investigate the source of the adulterated fuel that was imported into the country recently.

The lawmakers concluded that the suspension should still remain until the outcome of the investigation, which is into the adulterated fuel problem.

During discussion on the matter, they expressed concern that this development is a failure on the part of regulatory and monitoring agencies.

The Chief Whip of the House, Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, was the one who moved the motion.

He said the lawmakers should decide on the matter to be sure that the bad product does not cause more damage and hardship to Nigerians.

Other members also contributed to the matter and said many Nigerians have started reporting engine failures in their motors, like sudden breakdowns of their cars on the roads.

Rep. Isiaka Ibrahim said aside from motors that might breakdown, the worst case scenario is if the bad fuel is aviation fuel.

Another symptom of the bad fuel is that it worries the entire system.

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The lawmakers also directed the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to make sure that their investigation covers all other petroleum products that have been imported into the country recently.

This is to find out if the products followed the standards and were safe for use.

A Nigerian agency confirmed that the bad fuel was circulating in the country.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, also listed four dealers as the firms that imported the contaminated petrol products into Nigeria.

“On January 20, 2022, NNPC received a report from their quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp, Belgium, “Mele Kyari said.

He said in a statement that the NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in four PMS cargoes imported by Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) suppliers.