By Fidelia Okosodo and Mary Chibuzor
Some FCT residents have urged the Federal Government to ensure strict supervision of importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS ) into the country.
They gave the advice on Monday in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to them, some of the PMS importers` activities had led to the circulation of adulterated PMS nationwide.
Mr Samuel Onime, a lecturer at Citi Polytechnic, Abuja said adequate supervision and regulations of petroleum industry ought to be strengthened to ensure fake PMS are not found at the nation’s filling stations.
He further said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other relevant agencies ought to be dedicated to their duties in the importation and distribution of quality petroleum products into the country.
Also speaking with NAN, Mrs Rita Lashuji, a public servant, said that the circulation of the adulterated fuel had caused a lot of damages to end users.
She said the fake product had impacted negatively on end users such as car owners, motorcyclists and business owners.
She said many car owners had spent a lot of money to fix damage caused to the vehicles by the fake product
Lashuji stated that circulation of the adulterated PMS by the importers was a deliberate act to maximise profit for themselves.
Mr Christopher Baya, a motorcyclist also told NAN that his colleagues were also victims of the adulterated fuel.
He said the adulterated PMS had done more harm to the society compared with the gains that could be obtained by the importers.
Baya appealed to the Federal Government to strengthen existing regulations toward punishing independent importers and marketers who found to have been involved in the importation and distribution of the fake PMS.
Spokesperson NNPC, Garba-Deen Muhammad, had confirmed that a technical committee had been set up to look into the matter, and how the contaminated products would be managed.
According to him, it is important that the contaminated fuel is not in circulation adding that the committee would determine how best to handle the task.
