By TINA TIMOTHY

A civil society group, Human Writers Association of Nigeria (HUIWA) has commended the federal government for handling the national scandal involving importation of toxic premium motor spirits (PMS) popularly known as petrol into Nigeria with an uncommon openness and transparency.

Urging that the stiffest sanctions be imposed on the culprits, HURIWA said: “The prompt decision of the hierarchy at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) headed by Mele Kyari to name and shame the corporate bodies allegedly responsible for the recent importation of bad fuel into Nigeria, is indeed heartwarming to us in the credible organised human rights and non-governmental community.

“This openness and transparency is commendable and should be sustained going forward," HURIWA said while calling for the stiffest sanctions to be imposed on the culprits.

“This is because as a constitutional democracy, apart from the explicit fundamental rights provisions enshrined in the constitution in Chapter Four with reference to Right to freedom of information, the decision by NNPC in calling out the allegedly defaulting companies is in line with section 22 of the constitution.”

HURIWA affirmed that “the extant Freedom of information Act (FOI) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is deeply rooted in promoting greater openness, transparency and accountability in government which the NNPC has just demonstrated with the aforementioned action of the Group Managing Director. This openness by NNPC will trigger the respect for greater honesty, transparency and the deliberate effort by government to end the regime of financial opaqueness and secrecy,” the group added.

HURIWA, through the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, also encouraged the Federal Government to work out and enforce systematic compensations of claims that may result from the use of the toxic fuel by Nigerians just as the rights group said the defaulting companies should be dragged to court by government if they fail to compensate their victims.

Urging the default firms to dialogue with victims of the bad fuel, the group said: “HURIWA is calling on the importers to spare Nigerians of needless brickbats and media war and enter into constructive dialogues with government and the victims of their bad fuel on issues of compensations to stave off huge legal damages that may come up if the victims are forced to go to court.”