04 November 2015, Lagos – The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says N2 million fine would be imposed on any petrol filling station in Kwara State found to be hoarding, cheating and indulging in sharp practice. DPR Operation Controller in the state, Mr Salvation Philip, said this on Wednesday when he led a team on inspection of some petrol stations in the state.
According to him, apart from paying the fine, the affected stations will also be suspended for two months. The warning came on the heels of lingering fuel crisis in Ilorin.
Reports had it that few filling stations in Ilorin and environs, which have the product, have long queues of motorists. Philip said the measure would not only send warning signal to marketers but also deter others believed to be perpetrating the unpatriotic act.
He said hoarding of fuel was criminal and would be treated as such. The controller said that the affected station would be banned from lifting fuel in any depot in the country. He said that DPR would formally communicate to the erring companies the embargo placed on their operation.
He said that the department was disturbed by unwholesome activities of some station owners because their illegal practice affected business activities and masses in the state. During the inspection, the monitoring team visited a petrol station on Ajase-Ipo road, and discovered that the station was selling at N120 per litre, contrary to the official price of N87.
The DPR boss directed the station to immediately revert to the approved price and warned that the agency would not tolerate sabotage. About 3,200 litres of petrol was discovered in another station on the road when the team visited the station. The station manager claimed that the product was reserved for the owner of the station.
Philip described the action as a clear case of hoarding, warning that the agency might impose N2 million fine on the station. “Hoarding in this critical time is criminal and we would treat it as such. “I don’t think it is a good thing to keep fuel for personal use while members of the public it is meant to serve are denied.
“From now, this act of sabotage would be meted with full wrath of the law to serve as deterrence to others. “Any station found wanting will pay N2 million fine and would be suspended for two months,’’ he said. The controller said that the monitoring of filling stations in the state was to ensure compliance with the laid down rules and regulations governing oil and gas sector in the country.
- Vanguard
