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MRS, Three Other Marketers Imported Adulterated Fuel, Says NNPC
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has countered MRS Oil Nigeria Plc as regards the recent importation of adulterated Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, into the country.
NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, named MRS and three other dealers as the firms that imported the contaminated products into Nigeria. This was, however, in contrast to the position of MRS.
A speech shared to selected broadcast media quoted Kyari as saying, “On January 20, 2022, NNPC received a report from our quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
“NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in Four (4) PMS cargoes imported by the following DSDP suppliers namely:
1. MRS MT Bow Pioneer LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium; 2. Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium MT Tom Hilde; 3. Oando MT Elka Apollon; 4. Duke Oil MT Nord Gainer.”
He said cargoes quality certificates issued at load port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium indicated that the gasoline complied with Nigerian specification.
Kyari said NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted tests before discharge also showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specification.
“As a standard practice for all PMS import to Nigeria, the cargoes were equally certified by inspection agent appointed by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has met Nigerian specification.
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the load port in Belgium and our discharge ports in Nigeria do not include the test for per cent methanol content and therefore the additive was not detected by our quality inspectors.”
He noted that in order to prevent the distribution of the petrol, NNPC had ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck and marine).
“All defaulting suppliers have been put on notice for remedial actions and NNPC will work with the authority to take further necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations,” Kyari stated.
But MRS had on Wednesday denied any involvement in the imports of the adulterated products, as it explained that methanol was prohibited in petrol imported into Nigeria.
It said, “Due to current subsidy regime, NNPC is the sole supplier of all PMS in Nigeria. Consequently, NNPC through their trading arm Duke Oil, supplied a cargo of PMS purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker Nord Gainer.
“This vessel discharged in Apapa between the January 24 and 30, 2022 and the following major marketers with receiving quantities were the recipients of the product:
OVH, 10,000 metric tonnes; MRS, 5,000MT; NIPCO, 5,958MT; ARDOVA, 6,000MT; Total, 10,000MT.”
The company stated that being one of the beneficiaries, MRS received the product in its depot and distributed the product to only eight of its stations in Lagos.
It explained that following delivery into tank, it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark, adding that the management of MRS immediately directed that further sale(s) should be stopped and the
product isolated.
The firm further stated that the allegation against MRS that it imported contaminated products, was therefore mischievous, false and untrue.
“MRS is not an importer of this contaminated PMS into the country, nor does MRS sell substandard products,” it stated.
The Punch
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
Publisher of The Boss Newspaper and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dele Momodu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to “kill democracy in Nigeria.”
The appeal, which was made while Momodu was fielding questions during a live television show on Channel TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, was an aftermath of President Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly for six months due to a political crisis in the state.
The journalist expressed his concern over Tinubu’s decision, which he described the move as “worse than dictatorship.”
He added that he was disappointed by the president’s actions, especially given Tinubu’s past fight for democracy.
Momodu stated, “I think it is very unfortunate. I know President Tinubu very, very, very well. Though I’ve not been in the same party [with him] and all that, we were together in exile, and he fought gallantly for this democracy,” he said.
“So a lot of us, co-comrades at that time, are actually very embarrassed that we have a pro-democracy leader in government, and yet what we are witnessing is worse than dictatorship.
“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, ‘Please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria.’ Everybody who loves him will tell him this. I don’t; I’ve not asked him for anything or anything, but we love him for his contributions to the motivation in the back, which is what is going down the drain.”
He also warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was trying to intimidate the opposition, urging Tinubu not to be misled by those around him, adding that he does not need to intimidate anybody.
“I’m saying it now openly to millions of Nigerians that people are deceiving President Tinubu, and he should not allow people to deceive you,” he said.
“He should just do his job. The only thing that can guarantee a second time is to do your job well. You do not need to intimidate anybody.”
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, joined others for prayers at the National Eid ground in Abuja, as Nigerian Muslims mark the Eid-El-Fitr celebrations together with millions of others around the world.
Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and some ministers also observed the prayer at the same venue.
Eid-El-Fitr, meaning the festival of breaking the fast, is a time of gratitude, charity and communal harmony.
It began with special prayers known as Eid prayers held in Mosques and open spaces. Following the prayers, families share festive meals, exchange gifts and extend warm greetings.
Eid is a time to remember those less fortunate and to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. A key component of Eid is Zakat al Fitr, a mandatory charitable donation intended to ensure everyone irrespective of their financial situation can participate in the joy of the celebration.
This act of giving embodies the spirit of compassion and solidarity that Ramdan emphasizes. From the elaborate feast of South Asia to the festive clothing of Nigeria and the African continent and the warm gatherings of the Middle East, Eid celebrations vary across cultures, showcasing the rich diversity of the Muslim world.
However, the underlining message of unity, gratitude and compassion remains universal.
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday from today, but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday.
But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until Monday because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
