National Issues
Adulterated fuel: Reps committee to sanction erring PMS suppliers -Abba Dukawa
While briefing the Committee, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, explained that the situation was caused by the discovery of methanol in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria under the subsisting commercial contract operated by the NNPC and its partners.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Abdullahi Gaya, has assured Nigerians that it would handle companies who imported off-spec Premium Motor Spirit into the country.
Gaya spoke during an engagement with the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, organised by the committee on the current fuel situation in the country.
Gaya, in a statement by the NNPC Group Spokesman, Garba Muhammad, on Wednesday, said erring suppliers would be sanctioned.
While briefing the Committee, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, explained that the situation was caused by the discovery of methanol in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria under the subsisting commercial contract operated by the NNPC and its partners.
According to the GMD, the reason why tests did not reveal methanol presence was because Nigeria’s specifications do not include methanol.
“We are a law-abiding company. There is no way we could have known about the methanol presence.
“The only way we could have known about it is if our suppliers, in good faith, made the disclosure to us.
In this particular instance, the discovery was made by our inspection agents who noticed the emulsification at the filling stations and brought it to our attention.
“Subsequent investigation revealed that the four cargoes which are all from the same source also contained methanol-blended PMS,” Kyari added.
He said the NNPC then moved swiftly to trace all the affected products and quarantine them.
While assuring the Committee and Nigerians that measures have been put in place to accelerate fuel supply and distribution, he said it had placed significant orders of over 2.1 billion litres of methanol-free PMS to ensure the queues vanished in a few days.
He pledged that NNPC would co-operate with the Committee and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to get to the root of the matter.
The NNPC CEO also expressed deep empathy with Nigerians on the current situation and assured that adequate measures have been put in place to maintain supply sufficiency and prevent future occurrence.
Fayose’s Thank You Message To Obasanjo: Uncouth, Unthinking And UnAfrican -By Isaac Asabor
Obasanjo, for his part, responded with a pointed but dignified jab, thanking Fayose for revealing his true nature and promptly...
Why Nigeria Must Act Now or Face the Consequences: The Wake-Up Call of the U.S. Religious Freedom Accountability Bill 2025 -By James Ezema
And to the Nigerian people—Christians, Muslims, and traditionalists alike—this moment demands unity, not division. Petition your lawmakers, demand justice, and...
Africa’s Mining Industry: New Opportunities for Cooperation with Russia and China -By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The Chinese delegation played a significant role in the event. Participants included Sun Yongjun, First Secretary of the Embassy of...
The Yerima Effect: How A Naval Officer’s Stillness Destroyed Wike’s Political Weapons, Collapsed His Judicial Shield, And Taught A Young Democracy To Stop Fearing Strong Men -By Prof. John Egbeazien Oshodi
The Ministry of Defence publicly defended the officer, not Wike. They stated clearly that Yerima acted within lawful authority. That...
Aso Rock and Kitoye Ajasa’s Lickspittle Press -By Festus Adedayo
To demonstrate their opprobrium for Ajasa’s leaflet, the Nigerian Pioneer newspaper, the people scoffed at it on the newsstand. To Ajasa’s contemporaries, his...