•NNPC probes lubricants-for-petrol claims

The Downstream Committee of the Senate has disclosed that the refineries in the country will commence operations before the year runs out.

Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Retail Limited has launched investigation into a viral video showing a fuel pump attendant demanding customers purchase lubricants before petrol.

Vice Chairman of the Senate committee, Jide Ipinsagba (APC, Ondo North), told journalists, yesterday, in Akure, Ondo State, that the retrofitting of the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries was already at the completion stage.

Ipinsagba said the committee was satisfied after on-the-spot assessment of the refineries as well as the Dangote refinery, stressing that refined petroleum products would be exported after internal consumption had been met.

He said: “Effort is on top gear to ensure that all the refineries are functioning before the end of this year. We have done oversight of all the refineries, and we have good promises from them based on what we saw there. Port Harcourt refinery has about 90 to 95 per cent optimisation in terms of retrofitting. Warri is almost about 80 per cent and Kaduna is almost about 70 per cent.

“Dangote refinery is ready to operate any moment from now. With all this, internal consumption of fuel will not be a problem, and we will have the opportunity to also export our refined oil. When that happens, our exchange rate will be stabilised.

According to him, this is not a paper talk because the committee went on oversight for this. “We saw it and it was demonstrated. We were in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Warri and Dangote Refinery in Lagos.

“Chairman of the Committee is Ifeanyi Ubah. We went there to confirm if what they have been telling us is real, and they are indeed real,” he said.

While urging Nigerians to exercise patience with President Bola Tinubu, the senator maintained that the country is in a recovery mode that would soon be fully stabilised.

He added: “President Tinubu is doing all he can to ensure that the country stabilises. Before, we were living in a world of fantasy, but we must live in our real lives. We cannot borrow money to service other areas of interest. We have to come up and say this is the exact situation in Nigeria.”

NNPC said its attention was drawn to the video circulating on social media, which shows a fuel pump attendant forcing customers to buy lubricants or engine oil as a prerequisite for purchasing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

The Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, Huub Stokman, condemned the incident, stating, “We are dedicated to providing clear, transparent and quality service to all our customers, guaranteeing that their needs are met without any recourse to unnecessary and unscrupulous conditionalities.”

He emphasised that the company’s Customer Service Charter does not require customers to purchase lubricants or any other product as a precursor to buying petrol.

The company reiterated that customers were free to purchase petrol without any conditions, and any demand for lubricants or other products as a prerequisite for dispensing petrol was unauthorised and unacceptable.

Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC limited, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement, yesterday, noted that NNPC Retail Limited “prides itself on providing excellent customer service and ensuring that customers’ needs are met without any hassle or coercion.”

He advised the public to disregard the information in the viral video and report any similar incident to the appropriate authority. Advising customers to report any unscrupulous activities at any NNPC retail filling station to the company’s customer service desk, he assured that all reports would be investigated, and appropriate action taken.

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