The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has expressed regret for the difficulties caused by the importation of off-spec Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol.
Melee Kyari, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, stated before the House of Representatives in Abuja on Wednesday that the company’s efforts to correct the anomaly would end the fuel shortage by next week.
Kyari said, “I was very clear during my first media review, and let me also repeat, again, for this purpose: first, we did not know that this product contained methanol. We absolutely did not know and your investigation will give you the reality at the end of the tunnel. Once you have this situation and you withdraw volumes in the market, you will have supply disruption and it comes with consequences.
“We are very conscious of the consequences that will come with it – the queues that you are seeing, the disruption of the economic activities that are very obvious, and the liquidated damages that can be a legal process where you may not even be able to recover your possession. So, we are aware of this. We regret this situation and it is completely unavoidable. We didn’t see it coming. I have apologised to Nigerians that we didn’t see it coming.”