Adulterated Fuel: FG Orders Investigation, Promise To Compensate Affected Consumers.
By Kabir Akintayo
The Federal Government has directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to investigate the adulterated fuel in circulation.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja after the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, Sylva said the federal government wanted to get to the root of the matter, and warned against hasty conclusions.
“I didn’t expect you to draw any conclusions yet,” the former Bayelsa State governor said. “There will be a major investigation to unravel everything and then let us really get to the bottom of it before we can come back and tell you what is going to happen to the culprits,” he added.
Read Also:
The minister assured that the government would consider compensating those who might have been adversely affected by the bad fuel.
“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 stated.
Asked whether the issue was discussed at the FEC meeting and whether the suppliers would be punished, Sylva said, “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.
“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 the NNPC is up to the task.
“I will also convey your question to the NNPC and maybe the Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, but we are actively handling it and I want to assure you that the problem will be a thing of the past very soon”, he said.
