Keyamo urges Buhari to probe use of kerosene as aviation fuel

Human rights lawyer Festu Keyamo wants President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the “sale” of kerosene as aviation fuel by some “unscrupulous oil marketer”.

Keyamo, who argued that the practice portends grave danger for the flying public, implored the president to “descend on the oil sector with the full weight of the law,” saying it “stinks to high heavens”.

“On Thursday, September 3, 2015, the media was awash with a scary story of how some unscrupulous oil marketers now sell house-hold kerosene as aviation fuel, all in a bid to make astronomical and criminal profit at the expense of thousands of human life. This exposé, if found to be true, can best be described as the height of man’s inhumanity to man,” he said in a statement.

“The reports have it that some oil marketers in Nigeria now substitute house hold kerosene (HHK) for jet A1(Aviation Fuel), which is believed to be one of the causes of the incessant air crashes we have experienced in this country in the recent past.

“The reports also have it that the said kerosene is sold by the PPMC at the ex-depot and regulated price of N40.90 (Forty Naira, Ninety Kobo) per litre, with the objective of reselling to the average Nigerians at the pump price of N50.00 (Fifty Naira) per litre. However, given the fact that the said HHK share some physical and chemical properties with Jet A1 Aviation Fuel, some marketers have resorted to diverting it to the Aviation Industry and now sell it to both local and international Airlines operators in place of Aviation Fuel at the rate of N140 per litre

“The dangerous implications of the use of house-hold kerosene (HHK) as Aviation Fuel are listed to include the following: significant damage to the Aircraft and Engine, Fuel system corrosion, clogging of fuel filtration components, failure of aircraft fuel system instrumentation and stopping of the fuel supply to the engine during flight. In effect, the use of HHK as Aviation Fuel portends a serious and grievous threat to the flying public.

“Mr. President, this is a clarion call for you to set up a high-level inquiry to investigate the nefarious activities of these oil marketers and Airlines that engage in this dastardly act of substituting house-hold kerosene (HHK) in the place of Jet A1 Fuel in order to ensure safety of lives and properties in our Aviation Industry.

“Your Excellency, I most humbly urge you to continue to remain firm and resolute in your resolve to fight corruption and impunity in all facets of our national life. It would appear that the oil industry in Nigeria stinks to high heavens and the earlier you descend on it with the full weight of the law, the better for all of us.”