From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has debunked report making the rounds that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that a query be issued to the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, over importation of adulterated fuel.
The source said “nothing of such ever happened.”
A national daily had credited an unnamed source in the presidency with the claim that President Buhari, who doubles as Minister of Petroleum, directed the Minister of State, Timipre Sylva, to issue a query to the NMDPRA boss.
But the presidency source, yesterday, told State House Correspondents there was no directive to issue a query.
“What Mr. President is interested in is for all the stakeholders to team up, and resolve the issue that has brought untold hardship to Nigerians, who queue hours on end to get petrol. The president is aware that the Minister of State, the chief executive officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Mele Kyari, the NMDPRA head, and everyone involved, are working together to resolve the issues, at the shortest possible time.
“What is uppermost in the mind of the president is the restoration of smooth supply of quality petrol to Nigerians, and not recriminations or blame game.
“Forget the story of any query being issued. It is not correct. Yes, Mr. President is unhappy with what happened, but he didn’t direct that a query be issued. The story is not correct,” the source said.