On Tuesday, the House of Representatives called for the suspension of Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), pending the conclusion of investigations into allegations against the Authority.
This decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Esosa Iyawe during a plenary session in Abuja.
In his motion, Iyawe highlighted that fuel quality significantly affects engine hardware, advocating for the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel for various applications, including companies, power plants, storage tanks, industrial facilities, fleets, heavy equipment, and ships. He emphasized that high sulfur content in fuels damages engines and contributes to air pollution.
Iyawe noted that, given the risks associated with sulfur, governments worldwide have implemented regulations to limit sulfur emissions, with diesel producers expected to comply with these standards.
The Edo lawmaker pointed out that sulfur dioxide has severe environmental and health impacts, including damage to the human respiratory system, compromised lung function, and cancer.
He stated that the NMDPRA allows local refiners to produce diesel with sulfur content up to 650 parts per million (ppm) until January 2025, as approved by ECOWAS.
Iyawe also alleged that the Chief Executive of NMDPRA recently claimed that diesel produced by the Dangote refinery was inferior to imported diesel, with sulfur content ranging between 650 and 1,200 ppm.
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 ppm and 2000 ppm 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 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.”
He expressed concern that the reckless statement by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, made without prior investigation, is not only unprofessional but also unpatriotic, especially given the recent calls for protests against the Federal Government.
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