The House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to allow for thorough investigations into serious allegations against the Authority.
This follows a motion raised by Honorable Esosa Iyawe regarding the immediate need to address the fallout from what he termed as reckless remarks by the NMDPRA Chief.
During the session, Hon. Iyawe highlighted significant concerns over the quality of diesel products in the Nigerian market. He stated, “In their defense, Dangote called for a test of their products, which was supervised by Members of the House of Representatives.
The results revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a Sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million), whereas two other samples of imported diesel showed Sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively, thus disproving the allegations made by the NMDPRA boss.”
Hon. Iyawe further alleged that the NMDPRA was granting licenses to traders who regularly import high-Sulphur content diesel into Nigeria, posing severe health risks and financial losses for Nigerians.
He emphasized that the unguarded statements by the NMDPRA Chief, which have since been disproved, caused outrage among Nigerians. These statements were seen as undermining local refineries and promoting the continued importation of fuel with high levels of dangerous compounds, an act perceived as economic sabotage.