OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — The House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has fixed Tuesday for questioning suppliers of adulterated Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol.
Chairman of the committee, Abdullahi Gaya, disclosed this on Saturday.
According to him, the suppliers of the products that caused current petrol scarcity crisis have been invited.
“We have invited them. They are coming on Tuesday next (this) week,” Gaya said.
MRS, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium, Oando and Duke Oil (NNPC subsidiary) have been identified as the suppliers.
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, was questioned by the committee on Thursday.
The lawmakers had insisted that those responsible for the contaminated fuel must be sanctioned.
According to them, due diligence was ignored before passing the product for distribution to marketers.
The House Majority Whip, Mohammed Monguno, moved a motion of urgent public importance, titled “Need to Investigate the Release and Sale of Adulterated Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Petrol Stations Across Nigeria.”
Adopting the motion, the parliament mandated the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to “investigate the release of adulterated PMS across the country, with a view to ensuring that culprits are brought to book, as well as make recommendations towards curbing a reoccurrence of such incident.”
The lower legislative chamber also asked the committee to “ascertain whether the Nigerian specification concerning importation, distribution and dispensing of the alleged toxic petrol in Nigeria, from January till date, complied with international standards.”
Also, the lawmakers further asked the committee to “investigate the roles played by the NNPC, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy; any other government regulatory agencies, limited liabilities companies, and individuals in the unfortunate episode.”
Furthermore, the parliament asked the NNPC to suspend the four companies involved in the importation of the adulterated PMS.
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