house of reps probes alleged sabotage of dangote refinery

The House of Representatives at the plenary Tuesday directed its committees in petroleum midstream and downstream to investigate call for sack of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) Farouk Ahmed over unguarded comments against local refineries. The resolution of the Lawmakers was sequel to the adoption of an amendment […]

The House of Representatives at the plenary Tuesday directed its committees in petroleum midstream and downstream to investigate call for sack of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) Farouk Ahmed over unguarded comments against local refineries.

The resolution of the Lawmakers was sequel to the adoption of an amendment to a motion on Urgent Need to Address the Outrage Resulting from Comments by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, sponsored by Hon. Esosa Iyawe.

Moving the motion, Iyawe Noted that fuel quality can impact engine hardware, thus ultra-low sulfur diesel is recommended for all types of companies, power plants, storage tanks, industrial facilities, fleets and heavy equipment, and even ships, as high Sulphur content in fuels causes damage to engines and contributes to air pollution.

He also noted that considering the various risks associated with Sulphur, governments around the world have taken steps to regulate it by setting standards that require maximum reduction of emissions of this chemical compound, which diesel producers are expected to adhere to.

He said the House is aware that NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with Sulphur content of up to 650 parts per million (ppm) until January 2025, as approved by the ECOWAS.

He said the House is also aware that recently, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA stated that the diesel produced by the Dangote refinery is inferior to the ones imported into the country, and that their fuel had a large content of Sulphur, which he put at between 650 to 1,200ppm ppm.

The Lawmaker said the House is further aware that in their defence, Dangote called for a test of their products, which was supervised by Members of the House of Representatives, wherein it was revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a Sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million), whereas the other two samples diesel imported showed Sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively, thus disproving the allegations made by the NMDPRA boss.

He expressed concerns that allegations have been made that the NMDPRA was giving licences to some traders who regularly import high-Sulphur content diesel into Nigeria, and the use of such products poses grave health risks and huge financial losses for Nigerians.

He said, “Also concerned that the unguarded statements by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, which has since been disproved, sparked an outrage from Nigerians who tagged his undermining of local refineries and insistence on the continued importation of fuel an act of economic sabotage, as the imported products have been shown to contain high levels of dangerous compounds. Worried that the careless statement by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA without conducting any prior investigation is not only unprofessional, but also unpatriotic especially in the face of the recent calls for protest against the Federal Government.”

The motion was thereafter adopted as amended, referring it to the house special committee of midstream and downstream investigating alleged importation of adulterated petroleum products and scarcity of crude oil for refineries, to look into the matter and offer recommendations.