The federal government had through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Tuesday said adulterated petrol, fuel with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.
Some senior advocates and rights activists have called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which is the sole importer of petrol into the country, to compensate motorists who bought adulterated fuel.
It also said oil marketers had been directed to ensure sufficient supply of quality petrol in all outlets in the country.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said the government was wrong to have given the NNPC the monopoly of petrol importation, insisting that the oil firm cannot escape liability.
He added, “If it is confirmed that there’s negligence on the part of the importer of the petroleum products, surely all those who bought the fuel are entitled to pursue their remedies against the agency especially where it affects vehicles among others.
“They would be liable and this is because they have the monopoly of importing petroleum products to the country. So the citizens are limited in terms of their choice and so in that regard they have the responsibility of ensuring that they import what is suitable for use by the consumer.
The NNPC can’t escape being held liable and not just the NNPC, I think the government itself and the reason is because there’s no reason to monopolise the importation of petroleum products. Also, the reason we are experiencing this is because the government has failed to repair our refineries.”
Another senior lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), reportedly said the NNPC must compensate those who bought the contaminated petrol.
Falana advised victims to lodge a complaint with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The senior advocate added, “If I was an independent marketer and I bought the product from NNPC for the supply and suddenly it turned out to be adulterated fuel , the NNPC is duty bound to reimburse and compensate me for my loss. I could start first with an administrative process to demand for the reimbursement and when they refuse to do that I can now institute an action in that regard because I bought it from them.
“Secondly, a car owner who goes to a filling station to buy petrol and his car develops a fault because some cars are very sensitive, can sue the supplier as well as the NNPC. It’s like a chain; you identify the primary source and the secondary. Honestly, it is highly irresponsible for the NNPC to have imported adulterated fuel. It means standards have really declined. How do you determine the fuel that is being sold, is it not at the point of purchase?
However, the spokesperson for the oil firm, Garba-Deen Muhammad, was said to have declined comments when asked if the NNPC would compensate motorists who had already used the contaminated petrol.
