February 11, (THEWILL) – The management of Oando Plc has faulted claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that the company was among four suppliers that imported adulterated fuel into Nigeria.
THEWILL earlier reported that the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, had on Wednesday night, said it received on January 20, 2022, a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
He said the methanol blended petrol was imported into the country by the suppliers through four Premium Motor Spirit cargoes under its Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement.
Kyari had listed listed the companies – MRS, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium, Oando, and Duke Oil as the importers of the contaminated product
But disputing the claim, Oando, in a statement signed by the company secretary, Ayotola Jagun, said, it never imported contaminated petrol into Nigeria as alleged and was never involved in such.
Oando maintained that the PMS it supplied met Nigeria’s import specification, adding that it is committed to work with the NNPC to identify the root cause(s) of the subsequent contamination of the PMS supplied.
The statement read: “Following media reports listing Oando as one of four importers that supplied methanol-blended Premium Motor Spirits into the country, we hereby state that Oando did not import and supply PMS that was adulterated or substandard.
“The PMS supplied by Oando met Nigeria’s import specification. We are committed to working assiduously with the NNPC and industry to identify the root cause(s) of the subsequent contamination of the PMS supplied.
“We want to assure the public that Oando as a responsible corporate citizen would not partake in the importation, distribution, or marketing of substandard petroleum products.”
