January 24, 2018

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Wednesday said it sealed 10 erring filling stations in Borno for various offences.

Alhaji Bala Musa, its Deputy Coordinator in the North-East, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

Musa said that that the stations had been sanctioned since the past three weeks for dispensing petrol above the approved pump price of N145 per litre.

He said that the stations were fined in accordance with laws governing DPR’s operations.

“The measure was necessary to end scarcity and ensure the availability of petroleum products in the state.

“We make sure that the stations dispensed fuel to consumers and must pay a fine before they could resume operation.

“DPR is working in collaboration with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to sensitise its members on dangers associated with diversion, hoarding and over pricing,’’ he said.

He said that the NNPC had supplied 222 trucks of petroleum products to Borno and Yobe States in the last three weeks.

The coordinator said that the products included petrol, diesel and kerosene and expressed optimism that the situation would change for the better in view of improvement in supply.

Musa advised motorists to cooperate with the DPR by providing useful information about stations hoarding and dispensing fuel above the approved pump price.

NAN reports that there were long queues in the few stations dispensing as most of them had ran out of stock.

The situation forced desperate consumers to patronise “black market” outlets which were selling at exorbitant prices.

A litre of petrol was sold at N200, while a four-litre gallon was sold at N800.