Ogun defends task force

Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe (ANPE) has called on President Bola Tinubu to probe alleged dumping of tainted petroleum products, otherwise known as fake fuel, on the country.

The association noted that the usage of the product was capable of putting lives of Nigerians in great jeopardy. ANPE also noted that fake fuel also had negative implications for the environment in addition to the associated dangers that the fumes from these products posed to the public health.

The global President of ANPE, Mr Solomon Ola, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, warned that the continued importation of sanctioned tainted petrol into Nigeria would no doubt have diplomatic consequences, bearing in mind the sanctions that the Price Cap Coalition, comprising the European Union, the United States, the G7, and Australia imposed on Russian-sourced crude and petroleum products.

ANPE stressed that it behooved on President Tinubu, to, as a matter of national interest, use his mandate as the country’s chief executive to halt the designation of Nigeria as a dumping ground for foreign-sourced tainted, adulterated, and questionable petroleum products.

ANPE’s call came just as the Ogun State Government, yesterday, stated that the task force set up in the petroleum industry was to address fuel meter tampering and other sharp practices among operators, even as it debunked allegations of harassment and intimidation by the task force.

The state Commissioner for Transportation, Olugbenga Dairo, said contrary to the allegations of harassment and intimidation levelled against the task force by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the government, faced with soaring transportation costs and public outcry over fuel pricing malpractices, took a proactive approach by establishing the task force aimed at regulating and ensuring fair practices within the petroleum sector.