Kerosene Sold As Aviation Fuel, Marketers Explain Scarcity

Two oil marketing associations, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, and the Association of Petroleum Products Marketers, APPM, have identified the cause of the current kerosene scarcity in the country.

In separate advertorials published in national dailies, the petroleum marketers revealed that dual purpose kerosene (DPK) meant for the masses is being sold as aviation fuel to airline operators in the country by a company charged with the importation of the product.

The advertorials, signed by the chairman of the associations, Jubril Adewale Tinubu for MOMAN and Alhaji Muhammed Abubakar for APPM, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the matter and save the lives of innocent Nigerian air travellers.

The petroleum marketers disclosed that the company importing kerosene into the country on behalf of the NNPC was behind the current sabotage of efforts to bring succour to the over 20 million households in Nigeria who require kerosene for domestic consumption.

They accused the company of passing off kerosene as Jet A1 to operators in the aviation sector with no consideration as to the inherent risk associated with such activities.

“While Jet A1 and DPK are similar products, they possess totally different specifications and require different levels of handling, transportation and storage infrastructure which expertise is possessed mainly by members of MOMAN who are duly audited annually and certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Joint Inspection Group (JIG),” Tinubu stated in the advertorial.

He called on the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, to release kerosene to marketers with verifiable storage, handling and distribution capacity and capabilities to ensure the product gets to the consumers as intended.

APPM disclosed that its investigations revealed that the company importing kerosene on behalf of NNPC buys the product at N40.90k per litre from the government corporation and sells it as imported aviation fuel to the airlines at the rate of N152 a litre, adding that the company makes a staggering 43 million dollars profit every month.

“We are calling on Mr. President to investigate this matter and give the relevant oversight ministry and agencies the go-ahead to put an end to this unpatriotic act…to avoid calamities and save the lives of innocent citizens as Nigeria cannot afford to be inundated with air disasters,” Alhaji Abubakar of APPM stated.