Buhari wants bad fuel importers held accountable, lawmakers demand suspension of liable firms

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that those responsible for the off-spec petrol imported into the country recently must be held accountable.

He gave the directive in a statement issued on Thursday by Garba Shehu, his senior special assistant on media and publicity.

Mele Kyari, general managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, had Wednesday night said MRS, Oando, Emadeb Consortium and Duke Oil, a subsidiary of the NNPC, were the suppliers of the contaminated products.

Buhari insisted that those involved must “be held accountable for substandard services and or products sold by them.”

The President also directed the relevant government agencies to “take every step in line with the laws of the country to ensure the respect and protection of consumers against market abuses and social injustices.”

The statement said, “In a reaction to the issue of petroleum product shortages linked to the inadvertent supply of products of foreign origin into the Nigerian market, President Buhari said the protection of consumer interests is a priority of the present administration and is ready to take all necessary measures to protect consumers from hazardous products, loss or injuries from the consumption of substandard goods,” the statement reads in part.

“The President directed that in line with the law, service providers must make full disclosure of relevant information with respect to the consumption of their products and that dissatisfied consumers are entitled to a proper redress of their complaints.”

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said on Wednesday that the Federal Government would investigate the supply of the adulterated petrol.

According to him, the decision to probe followed a briefing on the issue to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday to get to the root of the matter.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has asked the NNPC to suspend the companies involved in the importation of methanol-blended petrol.

 

The lower chamber also asked the NNPC to provide the names of the companies to its committee for investigation.

The resolution was passed during the plenary session on Thursday following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Mohammed Monguno.

Contributing to the motion, Onofiok Luke, a lawmaker from Akwa Ibom State, said the NNPC should be held responsible for the importation of adulterated fuel.

Luke asked the parliament to take action on the matter to ensure and restore the confidence of Nigerians.

Toby Okechukwu, the deputy minority leader, also said the NNPC had not done its duty well as a regulatory agency.