BREAKING: REPS CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF NMDPRA CEO PENDING INVESTIGATION

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In order to allow for thorough investigations into the accusations made against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA), the House of Representatives has requested for the Chief Executive to be placed on leave.

This came after Hon. Esosa Iyawe’s motion of urgent public concern was adopted, stating that the House needed to act quickly to resolve the outage caused by his allegedly careless remarks.

Because high sulfur content in fuels damages engines and contributes to air pollution, Hon. Iyawe reminded the House that fuel quality can affect engine hardware. As a result, ultra-low sulfur diesel is advised for all kinds of businesses, power plants, storage tanks, industrial facilities, fleets, heavy equipment, and even ships.

He stated that governments all around the world have taken action to limit sulfur because of the many threats it poses. These measures include adopting regulations that demand a maximum reduction of sulfuric compound emissions, with which diesel companies are supposed to comply.

The Edo Lawmaker claims that sulfur dioxide can harm human respiratory systems, impair lung function, and even cause cancer. As a result, it has serious negative effects on the environment and human health.

He noted that, in accordance with ECOWAS approval, local refiners are allowed to produce diesel with a maximum sulfur level of 650 parts per million (ppm) by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) through January 2025.

He alleged that recently, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA stated that the diesel produced by the Dangote refinery is 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: ā€œIn 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 Dangoteā€™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.

ā€œAllegations 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.

ā€œThe 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.ā€

He expressed concern that 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

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