OpeOluwani Akintayo
06 March 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, on Monday said that 39 filing stations were sanctioned in February for various offenses ranging from under dispensing, hoarding and selling above the pump price of N145 per litre.
Mr. Wole Akinyosoye, DPR Zonal Operations Controller, Lagos office, said in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos that the agency would not hesitate to clamp down on any stations found cheating.
According to him, in furtherance of the ongoing efforts of the government to ensure constant supply of petroleum products across the nation, DPR has redoubled surveillance at the depots and retail outlets.
Akinyosoye said DPR has been monitoring activities at the depots to gauge availability and ensure timely truck-out of available products.
He said: “We have also intensified surveillance to ensure that available petrol is not sold above the N145.00 cap price at the pumps.
“However, we noticed that some unscrupulous operators, aware that our officials cannot possibly be at all the 9,039 registered retail outlets in Lagos Zone at the same time, often adjust their pumps to deliver at the cap price whenever they sense DPR presence in their area and hike the price subsequently”.
“We, therefore, advise that motorists should insist on obtaining receipts for the purchase from such retail outlets,’’ he advised.
Akinyosoye explained that the department is expending all efforts to bring erring marketers to book through the imposition of fines and suspensions in line with extant regulations.