•To Prosecute Retail Outlets For Selling At N295 Per Litre
Seven Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) depots have been sealed in Lagos, Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt and Oghara in Delta State by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), for selling above ex-depot price.
This comes as the authority seals a retail station in Abuja that broke its sealed and continued operations after its premises were sealed for infractions.
Conducting the authority’s monitoring team around filling stations in Abuja, the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Kalu Ukoha warned retail outlets to desist from selling PMS above the official price.
Speaking on the impunity that characterises the downstream sub-sector of the Nigerian oil sector, Ukoha said the authority is empowered to prosecute erring depots and retail outlets in Nigeria.
His words: “Visiting this filling station (name withheld) demonstrates the kind of impunity that is happening at the retail end, which is impacting negatively on poor Nigerians in terms of additional money they have had to pay to buy PMS.
“We received a credible report that this station was selling PMS N295 per litre, which was above the official price and it was sealed. Two weeks after, it was back in business after its management unsealed our seal themselves. The authority will not accept this type of impunity from any operator.
“There are rules and regulations guiding this environment and the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) are very clear on this. Everybody willing to conduct business in this sector must comply with the rules and regulations as set out in the PIA. The Authority has very strong prosecutorial powers which we are going to deploy immediately.”
Ukoha also hinted that the authority will not hesitate to withdraw all regulatory privileges from any operator that is found wanting during the Yuletide season and beyond.
“As of today, we have sealed seven depots in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Calabar, and Oghara in Delta State for over dispensing related issues. The authority and security agencies have received credible reports of operators that are selling PMS above the ex-depot official price.”
The ED, who accepted that there were issues raised by the operators, which the authority is engaging the stakeholders and seeking ways to resolve, explained that all concerns will be resolved within the ambit of the law.
He added: “While we are engaging all the relevant stakeholders to resolve all the issues that have been raised, the authority will not accept taking Nigerians for a ride, especially during the Yuletide when most of the population is on transit from one end of the country to another.”
Ukoha warned that the closure of depots and retail outlets is a continuous exercise to ensure strict compliance with the regulations guiding the downstream sub-sector of the Nigerian economy.
