Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi, the
consortium accused by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) of being
partly responsible for the importation of
off-specification petrol into the country, Thursday described the allegation
as misleading.
Instead, the group in a statement
in Abuja released by the Lead Consortium, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, urged
the NNPC to single out Brittania-U, an initial member of the coalition which
opted out of the arrangement.
According to report, Catherine
Uju Ifejika, used her Brittania-U Nigeria Ltd to supply 90,000MT of adulterated
PMS delivered via MT Torm Hilde with laycan January 2 to 4, 2022 that would
have killed Nigerians. Ifejika has been allegedly involved in shady deals some
of which got Hadiza Bala in trouble
Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi stated
that in several communications, it had notified the NNPC of the decision of
Brittania-U not to abide by the consortium’s agreement, leading to deal that
other members will not be liable for damages incurred by the company in the
course of operations.
The consortium stated that the
NNPC was aware of the refusal of Brittania-U to cooperate with other members by
way of making information available when needed.
For days, the presence of bad
petrol in circulation, has disrupted the country’s supply chain, causing long
queues in several states of the federation and damaging car engines.
However, the NNPC alleged on
Wednesday that from investigation, the
product that had the presence of methanol in it, four petrol cargoes in
all, were imported by MRS, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium and
Oando.
Group Managing Director of the
company , Mallam Mele Kyari, disclosed that the NNPC had ordered the quarantine
of all un-evacuated volumes of the contaminated fuel that led to the disruption
of the petrol distribution value chain, in order to prevent further
distribution.
But the Emadeb statement stressed
that the information released by the NNPC did not exactly represent what
transpired.
It stated: “We refer to the press
release of February 9, 2022 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)
Limited on the issue of contaminated Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with higher
concentrates of methanol allegedly imported by Emadeb/Hyde/Ay
Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium.
“We hereby state that the said
importation of the contaminated PMS was executed by a member of the consortium,
to wit: Brittania-U.
“Therefore, the blanket claims
made against the consortium by the NNPC are misleading and contradict the
actual events that happened; they do not fully reflect and/or represent what transpired.”
The consortium stated that the
clarifications relating to the delivery of the said contaminated petrol to the
country were necessary to protect their
image as they had invested a lot in building each member’s respective brands in
the industry.
“ Brittania-U Nigeria Limited
(Brittania-U) was the sole supplier of the 90,000MT of PMS delivered via MT
Torm Hilde with laycan January 2 to 4, 2022.
“At the formation of the
consortium in May 2021 by NNPC, Brittania-U refused to execute the Service and
Consortium Agreement submitted to NNPC in fulfilment of the award of the DSDP
contract,” it insisted.
Emadeb stated that as the lead of
the consortium, it engaged Brittania-U severally and the company insisted on
dealing with the NNPC independently of which the national oil company was
expressly notified via a letter dated June 2, 2021.
Further, the consortium stated
that Brittania-U vehemently refused to execute the Consortium Agreement with
the other consortium members – Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi- saying it became
surprising and frustrating to everyone.
“Brittania-U communicated all her
actions to the other consortium members and NNPC harping on the following
points: Brittania-U’s preference to perform a sole contract for crude lifting
and PMS supply under the DSDP arrangement.
“Brittania-U’s choice to be
solely liable under her supplies to NNPC and in the light of which she
indemnified the other consortium members accordingly,” the statement added.
It stated that the alleged
culprit further refused the nominated
international partner agreed by other consortium members – Emadeb/Hyde/ Ay
Maikifi.
Emadeb stated that Brittania-U
failed to cooperate or share information and documents with the other
consortium members in respect of the December 2021 crude cargo allocated to her
by NNPC.
It stated that following the
repeated refusal of Brittania-U to work with the consortium, it indemnified the
other consortium members–Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi and the resulting agreement was
executed by their company on June 16, 2021.
The indemnity clause, the
consortium said, covered Emadeb/Hyde/Ay
Maikifi against all damages, losses, costs and expenses.
It noted that this also included reasonable legal costs, expenses
and attorneys’ fees and liabilities incident to claims, demands or causes of
action brought by or on behalf of any person or entity as result of the
performance of or failure to perform the project.
“The indemnity also covers
shortages in delivery of products, late deliveries, delivery of off-spec cargo
or other wrongful performance of their obligations in the DSDP agreement,”
Emadeb insisted.
The consortium via a letter dated
December 10, 2021 said it informed NNPC of non-receipt of information from
Brittania-U on all correspondence relating to the DSDP crude cargo allocated to
them.
In addition it said that it
stated that Brittania-U’s action contradicted all efforts to ensure performance
on her allotted crude cargo.
“In view of the notice of the
contaminated product, Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi immediately notified Brittania-U
via a letter dated February 3, 2022 and also expressly informed NNPC of the
sole liability of Brittania U.
“Based on the substantial
evidence provided to NNPC and several declarations by Brittania-U to NNPC,
Brittania-U is therefore solely liable for the supply of the PMS via MT Torm
Hilde.
“This is also demonstrated by
their unwillingness to be part of the consortium; however, all the other
parties were duly indemnified by Brittania-U.
“The other consortium members –
Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi had performed and delivered 270,000MT of PMS in the last
five months and they were certified by the NNPC-nominated inspector without any
complaint or adverse issues.
“Out of the 270,000MT of PMS,
90,000MT is currently discharging via MT Fair Seas offshore Lagos. All records showing our performance are
available with NNPC for verification and validation,” the statement said.
The consortium stated that it
will continue to work with NNPC and perform creditably on all its obligations,
positing that as reputable companies, they will not associate themselves with
any activity that will be to the detriment of the citizens of the country.
“Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi believe
that these stated positions of ours have demonstrated that we are not the
suppliers of the said contaminated PMS.
“We are ready to give our full
and maximum cooperation to any government investigation panel and or any agency
with all the relevant documentation and or information that maybe required.
“We implore all our customers to
continue to patronise all services provided by Emadeb/Hyde and Ay Maikifi,” the
group concluded.
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