Dirty fuel: Pay for damaged vehicles, group tells NNPC

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Youths, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Youths Council, have petitioned the President General Muhammadu Buhari over the importation of dirty fuel into the country in February.

The group also asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to bear the cost of repairs for vehicles damaged by the dirty fuel.

The youth also tasked Buhari, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, to expose the importers of the adulterated product.

On February 8, 2022, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, one of the two regulatory entities created from the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources, said a “limited quantity” of Premium Motor Spirit with methanol quantity above Nigeria’s specification was discovered in the supply chain.

According to the NDYC, the recent importation of adulterated fuel that damaged cars and put the lives and businesses of Nigerians at risk cannot be overlooked.

In a petition on change.org on Friday, the group demanded total compensation for those affected and for the NNPC to hold accountable those responsible for the problem.

It stated, “The economic loss and damage caused by the actions of the NNPC are too grievous to be overlooked as they have also put the lives and businesses of Nigerians at risk. We cannot sit and continue to watch as Nigerians suffer from the incompetence and ineptitude of certain individuals occupying government offices, who have aided these deliberate acts of sabotage.

“Lots of damages have been done to cars, Okada, Keke NAPEP and generators due to the bad fuel that the NNPC circulated a few weeks ago, and up till now, no one has been held responsible.

“Sign this petition to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also the Minister of Petroleum, hold the NNPC’s Managing Director, Mele Kyari; and Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, responsible for this act.

“We urge the NNPC to start the process and modalities for compensating those with car damages by offering them financial support to cover the cost of repairs or replacement.

“They must expose and fine the perpetrators of the adulterated fuel, which has not only caused vehicle owners sorrow by damaging their cars, but led to an unwarranted scarcity of petroleum products and increase in retail pump prices at some petrol stations.”