FG to investigate importation of substandard fuel

The federal government on Wednesday said it will carry out a major investigation to know the circumstances surrounding the importation of adulterated fuel into the country.
Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said this at a media briefing after the Federal Executive Council meeting in the State House, on Wednesday.
The federal government had on Tuesday said methanol, a substance that is usually present in petrol, found in recently imported fuel exceeded Nigeria’s specification.
The development has resulted in shortage of petrol and queues reappearing in major cities including Abuja and Lagos.
The government on Wednesday said its national fuel reserve was short by 10 days as a result of this.
According to Mr Sylva, the investigation would disclose the cause of the unsafe quantity of methanol in petrol imported into the country.
He noted that the identities of the companies involved in the importation will be made public soon.
“The issue did not come up in Council, but of course, you will recall I was here yesterday to brief Mr President on the issue. I’m not in a position to disclose the identities of the companies, but there are some issues, and we are actively tackling it,” Mr Sylva was quoted by The Cable as saying.
“Nobody has, before now, checked for methanol in our fuel, it’s not very usual and this is the first time this is happening, and NNPC is very much up to the task.

READ ALSO: Petrol queues persist in Abuja over scarcity

“I will also convey your question to NNPC and maybe the Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, but we’re actively handling it, and I want to assure you that the problem will be a thing of the past very soon,” he said.
He also disclosed that the Federal Government would put into consideration Nigerians whose cars were damaged after using the adulterated fuel.
“I didn’t expect you to rush to any conclusions. There’ll be a major investigation to unravel everything and then let’s get to the bottom of it before we can come back and tell you what is going to happen to the culprits.
“We know that some people’s vehicles must have also been damaged, that is also going to be taken into consideration in dealing with the situation,” he added.

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