Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Stakeholders have described as a national embarrassment, the importation of over 170million litres of low-quality fuel into the country by the Federal Government through Duke Oil, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.
To this end, stakeholders and industry players across the country said the Federal Government should not only apologized to Nigerians for the embarrassment, but should ensure that those responsible for the action, including the regulators, are prosecuted to serve as deterrence.
Recall that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority recently confirmed that a limited quantity of PMS with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.
Similarly, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, said the national oil firm received on January 20, 2022, a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
Kyari said the NNPC investigation revealed the presence of methanol in four PMS cargoes imported by its DSDP (Direct Sale Direct Purchase) suppliers namely: MRS; Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium; Oando, and Duke Oil.
Investigations revealed that OVH, MRS, NIPCO, ARDOVA and TOTAL reportedly received the contaminated fuel from NNPC, after landing in Apapa between the 24th and 30th of January, 2022.
Reacting, stakeholders ranging from labour leaders, civil society groups and analysts urged the government to expeditiously investigate the matter, while wondering why the government over the years, has refused to make the nation’s four refineries to operate optimally using the NLNG model.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, said they were unsurprised that in 2022, toxic PMS was imported into the country and was already circulated in Abuja and Lagos, saying that the circulation must have gone beyond the two cities.
Executive Director of YEAC, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, urged the government to urgently fix the nation’s four refineries, issue licenses for the establishment of modular refineries and also set up the Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative, proposed by the group, in order to avoid future importation of toxic fuel.
Fyneface recalled that research by the Stakeholder Democracy Network, SDN in 2020 showed that fuel produced by artisanal crude oil refiners in the Niger Delta, was cleaner and better with low sulphur content than those imported from Europe.
He also described the government’s claim that they have withdrawn the toxic fuel from circulation as laughable, explaining that PMS was not articles or solid wares that can just be picked and withdrew from circulation.
“We are not surprised, because as far back as 2020, we raised an alarm through the outcome of a research conducted by SDN titled “Dirty Fuel in Nigeria” which we served as the lead research consultant and published in the Guardian newspaper of 20th May, 2020 with the title “Petrol sold to Nigeria from Europe ‘dirtier’ than black market bush fuel” but the country did not listen to commence investigation into the dirty and low quality fuel being imported and subsidy paid on it for Nigerians.
“Thus, this incident is a national embarrassment and those responsible for it including the failed regulator should be punished after investigation.
“I, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the Executive Director of Advocacy Centre think that the government should apologize to Nigerians for these lapses, investigate the matter to know the actual date that the low-quality PMS started entering into the country and from which country and have the licenses the companies that are found culpable withdrawn and subsidy paid on the set of products refunded.
“To avoid or minimize future occurrences of this embarrassing moment for the country, we advise the federal government to fix the refineries, give more licenses for the establishment modular refineries especially for artisanal crude oil refiners and also establish the Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) proposed by YEAC that innovates and modifies ongoing refining of crude oil by artisanal refiners who contribute to solving energy problem of the country with the production of between 5-20% of DPK, AGO and PMS used in the country with low sulphur contents.”
For a business and economic analyst, Mr Ignatius Chukwu, it was sad that people were being paid fat salaries in regulatory agencies, without doing the job they were been paid for.
Chukwu who described the situation as a scandalous embarrassment, urged the government to carry out full-scale investigation into the matter and ensure that all offenders, including regulators are prosecuted.
“Nigerians are scandalised at this embarrassing development. The scandal is in the fact that laboratories that tested these products cleared them as okay. Also, NNPC or DPR now NUPRC laboratories that ought to test these products on arrival failed to do their jobs, thus exposing the populace to danger. This is very sad. These NNPC workers earn fat salaries and maximum wages but do nothing.
“Way forward is a mass suspension, full investigation, final sanctions. Prosecution is necessary for implicated persons. No new measures or laws are needed because even the existing ones were not complied with.”
A labour leader and former Port Harcourt Zonal Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Comrade Azubuike Azubuike, believes that those responsible for regulating the industry compromised.
Azubuike wondered why the government has refused to make the nation’s four refineries to work using the NLNG model, while calling for punishment of those behind the toxic fuel.
“It is a disappointing situation. We have regulators at the ports, how did PMS that does not meet specification left Europe to Nigerian Port for distribution unhindered.
“I believe that people were compromised. The government should thoroughly investigate this matter and those found culpable should be penalized.
Every action should have a corresponding consequence. People who bought the product from Europe and those who allowed it to get into the country should be punished.
“People should learn to take responsibility. This matter should not be swept under the carpet. We don’t even know how many cars must have been damaged through this toxic fuel.”
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