Abuja, July 23, 2024 – The House of Representatives has called for the suspension of Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), pending the conclusion of the investigations into the tussle between NMDPRA and Dangote Refinery
The House took the decision on Tuesday following a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Esosa Iyawe, a member representing Esosa Federal Constituency, Edo State, during the plenary.
Iyawe said there was the need to address issues arising from Farouk’s utterances about the nation’s local refineries.
He said the claims of adulterated fuel in the Nigerian market must be thoroughly investigated as fuel quality could affect the engine of a vehicle.
The member said this is the reason ultra-low sulphur diesel is recommended for all types of 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 said considering the various risks associated with sulphur, countries across the world had 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.
Iyawe, however, noted that the NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with Sulphur content of up to 650 parts per million until January 2025, as approved by the Economic Community of West African States.
He said 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. (GBN)
