The House of Representatives has called on President Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed over his unguarded utterances on high sulphur content in the diesel being produced at Dangote Refinery pending conclusive investigations into the allegations by the House.
The lower chamber of the National Assembly made the call after adopting a motion of urgent public importance moved by Rep. Esosa Iyawe at the plenary on Tuesday.
Presenting the motion, he recalled that the head of the NMDPRA recently said the diesel produced by the Dangote Refinery was 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.
He said, “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 pm and 2000 pm respectively, thus disproving the allegations made by the NMDPRA boss.
“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.
“The unguarded statements by the Chief Executive Officer of the MDPRA, which has since been disproved, sparked an outrage from Nigerians who tagged his action as 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.
“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.”
Rep. Iyawe said fuel quality could impact engine hardware as ultra-low sulfur diesel was recommended for all types of companies, power plants, storage tanks, industrial facilities, ships, fleets and heavy equipment, adding that high sulphur content in fuels causes damage to engines and contributes to air pollution.
“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.
“Sulphur dioxide has dire environmental and health consequences, as it can damage the human respiratory system, compromise lung function and even cause cancer.
“The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority 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,” the lawmaker added.
Recall that the House Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources had on Monday launched an investigation into the matter.
It promised to invite Dangote Refinery, other refiners and stakeholders in the petroleum industry to deliberate and take the necessary action.
