NMDPRA Under Fire Over Alleged Fuel Quality Scandal, Group Demands Probe…..Stop issuing empty threats, enforce the law’ — Consumer Group

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is facing a fresh credibility crisis over allegations that adulterated and substandard petroleum products are continuing to flood the Nigerian market despite repeated regulatory warnings.

The Nigeria Energy Consumers Watch Initiative accused the regulator of failing to protect millions of Nigerians from the alleged influx of blended fuel from Dubai and other countries, demanding an immediate investigation into the activities of petroleum marketers involved in the importation and distribution of products suspected to be below required standards.

In a statement issued on Friday, the group’s President, Alhaji Abdulrahman Sani Ibrahim, said the alleged continued presence of questionable petroleum products exposed consumers, businesses and the wider economy to serious risks.

The group questioned why NMDPRA had allegedly failed to match its warnings with concrete enforcement action, particularly after the authority had reportedly threatened to cut off petroleum supplies to marketers found dealing in substandard products.

“This is no longer a matter that can be treated with regulatory caution or empty threats,” Ibrahim said.

“The NMDPRA knows the concerns that have been raised about the continuous importation of blended products from Dubai and other countries, and it has even warned that marketers involved in such practices could be denied petroleum supplies.

“If the regulator is aware of these activities and still allows them to continue, then it is failing in its fundamental responsibility to protect Nigerian consumers.”

The organisation accused the regulator of creating an environment in which warnings could be issued without corresponding enforcement, insisting that such an approach could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum regulatory system.

It described the alleged importation and circulation of adulterated fuel as an economic threat, warning that poor-quality products could damage vehicle engines and industrial machinery, increase operating costs and further push up transportation and business expenses.

The group demanded intensified surveillance and laboratory testing of petroleum products at ports, depots and filling stations, as well as immediate sanctions against any marketer found to have violated quality standards.

“The regulator cannot continue to issue warnings while the same practices it is warning against persist in the market,” the group said.

It called for investigation and prosecution, where appropriate, of marketers found deliberately importing or distributing products that fail regulatory standards.

The consumer organisation also urged the Federal Government to investigate major petroleum marketers allegedly involved in the importation of blended products and determine whether any regulatory officials had failed in the discharge of their duties.

It further demanded that NMDPRA publish petroleum-product test results regularly and identify marketers whose products fail quality checks.

“Nigerians are already paying heavily for fuel, and they should not also be made to bear the cost of poor regulation,” the group said.

“Every litre of fuel that enters this country must meet the required quality standard, regardless of who imported it or how influential the marketer is.”

The organisation warned that continued regulatory inaction, if established, could damage public confidence in the downstream petroleum sector and frustrate efforts to create a transparent and competitive fuel market.

It therefore called on the Federal Government to compel NMDPRA to account publicly for the measures it is taking to prevent the alleged importation and distribution of adulterated petroleum products.