A viral video hit the media recently where a fuel dispensing outlet owned by Fatgbems, sold water to motorists as petrol in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on March 14, 2021.
This sparked outrage from motorists on the ground and from social media users.
In the short clip, motorists can be seen shouting at the station’s attendants and managers, as water oozed from a couple of gas nozzles.
Fatgbems has apologised, saying rain water seeped into one of the station’s storage tanks.
“The said incident was a result of an overflow of water into one of the station storage tanks due to the recent rainfall. It is not in our culture to dispense low-quality products to our customers, as the said incident was a natural occurrence that was beyond our control.
“Our technicians are currently attending to the affected vehicles of customers.
An expert in the petroleum downstream sector and managing director of Smallville Consult, Kamorudeen Adegbokiki, has called for understanding as the filling station rush to resolve the issue.
In a statement made available to Freelanews, Adegbokiki, who has worked with NNPC retail for 13years, explained that though the incident was regrettable, it was one of the hazards of the business.
“Petrol stations in Nigeria, Africa’s number one crude oil producer, are often called out for sharp practices like tampering with their meters in a bid to increase profit margins.
“Fatgbems Petroleum remains one trusted brand in Oil sector. It’s growth in the industry has been steady and consistently encouraging.
“The incident at one of their outlets in Abeokuta is very regrettable. As unfortunate as the matter seems, it is one of the hazard of that business.
The expert, however, blamed it on sabotage and negligence on the part of the officials of the station.
“Although notwithstanding the excuse provided by the company and like I opined, the issue could be a gross negligence on the part of the Station Manager, The Stock Manager and the supervisor managing the station.
“There is also a possibility of sabotage by either of the Manager, Stock Manager and/or supervisor with a possible conspiration with the truck driver to cover-up for something not known to the public.
“In the meantime, allowing FATGBEMS to carry out due diligence with a view to forestalling future occurrence by putting a testproven measures in place while the company continue with its quality service delivery,” said Adegbokiki.
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