Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged scam involving the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
Speaking on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics” program, Falana emphasized the urgency of probing the alleged scam. “It is high time the importation scam was investigated. I am not talking of the joke that is going on in the National Assembly. The media must help civil society organizations to expose the fraud,” he asserted.
There have been reports suggesting that a $6 billion debt owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to petrol suppliers has aggravated the ongoing petrol scarcity in Nigeria.
On Sunday, NNPCL acknowledged this significant debt, noting it poses a risk to the continued availability of fuel in the country.
Falana pointed out, “When the government starts discussing affordability and sustainability in response to long queues at filling stations, it indicates there are serious issues.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria criticized the government’s lack of transparency on petrol subsidies and questioned the spending of “$2.9 billion to fix refineries,” noting that the timelines for their operational resumption keep changing. He also warned that he would take legal action against those in charge of repairing state-owned refineries if another delay is announced.
Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has stated that the current landing cost of petrol makes it unfeasible for marketers to import the product, a task currently being handled by NNPCL.
