Our Correspondent in Abuja.
Nigerians should expect an end to the current fuel scarcity in the country in few days as NNPC has ordered for over 2.1 billion litres of methanol-free PMS to ease pressure created by the scarcity.
GarbaDeen Muhammad, the Groups General Manager ( Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC Limited,made the disclosure in a statement in Abuja,qouting the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, as giving the assurance while briefing the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream).
Mr Kyari traced the scarcity to the discovery of methanol in the PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria under the subsisting commercial contract operated by the NNPC and its partners.
According to him, tests did not show methanol presence because Nigeria’s testing mechanism did not cover methanol, noting that methanol discovery was made by its inspection agents who noticed the emulsification at the filling stations.
“We are a law-abiding company. There is no way we could have known about the methanol presence. The only way we could have known about it is if our suppliers, in good faith, disclosed it to us.
“In this particular instance, the discovery was made by our inspection agents who noticed the emulsification at the filling stations and brought it to our attention.
“Subsequent investigation revealed that the four cargoes, which are all from the same source, also contained methanol-blended PMS,” Mr Kyari explained.
He added that NNPC moved swiftly to trace all the affected products and quarantine them to forestal further damage.
The GMD assured the committee and Nigerians that measures had been put in place to accelerate fuel supply and distribution in the country.
He pledged the commitment of NNPC to cooperate with the committee and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to get to the root of the root of the issue.
The NNPC ecpressed deep empathy with Nigerians on the current situation, assuring them that adequate measures had been put in place to guard against future occurrence.
