Adulterated fuel: Consumers experiencing technical difficulties, damage to vehicles, says FCCPC

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3 years ago

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that from its initial investigation consumers who purchased fuel that constitutes part of the consignment withdrawn by the NNPC limited have experienced technical difficulties, damage to their vehicles and other relevant equipment/machinery.

This was disclosed Thursday in Abuja by Babatunde Irukera, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in the interim statement with respect to irregular methanol quantities in petrol (PMS) discovered in the supply chain.

He said the FCCPC has become aware that a certain but limited quantity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) that does not comply with established, applicable, and prevailing standards has been distributed and sold in certain parts of the country.

As a result, the “Commission in the process of its initial investigative assessment understands that consumers who purchased fuel that constitutes part of this consignment have experienced technical difficulties and or damage to their vehicles or other relevant equipment/machinery.”

In furtherance of its investigation; and pursuant to relevant laws, the Commission, he added is currently engaging multiple regulators and entities relevant and involved in the PMS distribution value chain.

According to him, the purpose of ongoing engagements includes: “Addressing hardship or difficulties consumers may experience with respect to the withdrawal of the implicated products from the market; securing assurance and promoting consumer confidence that supply constraints are addressed and will not persist; ensuring that the regulator’s recall effort under applicable laws and regulations including Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 (FCCPA) sufficiently excludes continuing distribution of the implicated product; encourage and promote additional and robust mechanisms to prevent reoccurrence, and develop a meaningful and transparent mechanism to address demonstrated injury to affected consumers.”

Mr Irukera noted that the Commission’s engagement with the key and relevant regulators/entities involved has been constructive and productive, and commended the “responsiveness and prioritisation of ensuring continuity of supply, containment of implicated product and sensitivity to consumer dissatisfaction and inconvenience.”

He pointed out that the “Commission is continuing engagement, particularly with respect to a reasonable and acceptable mechanism to mitigate demonstrated injury and or loss experienced by consumers” and that it “intends to provide additional information as this rather dynamic situation evolves.”

Mr Eruka stressed that the Commission’s action is pursuant to Sections “17(a), (h), (i), (l), (t), (w), (y), (z), 131(a), (b), (d), 132, 133, 136 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018; and Sections 164(5)(b) and 210 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 202.”

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