The Warri Zonal Office of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has yet to record any case of adulterated petroleum products in its various operations.
Mr Ignatius Anyanwu, Operations Controller, NUPRC, Warri Zonal Office said this when he spoke with newsmen on Friday in Warri about the operations of the zone which comrised of Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti.
Anyanwu, who expressed surprise at the sudden queue that had resurfaced in most filling stations in Delta, said that there were enough petroleum products to serve the consumers.
“The case of adulteration we are hearing, we did not record anyone in Warri zone. We have enough sufficiency in stock. I wonder why the sudden queue in filling stations across the state,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents in Warri and environs woke up on Tuesday to see queues in most of the filling stations in the metropolis resulting in panic buying.
Anyanwu advised motorists to stop panic buying, saying that the surveillance team of the commission was working assiduously to ensure there were no hoarding or diversion of products.
“A total of 4.8 million litres of petrol were trucked out on Wednesday to the four catchment states under the Warri zone, which means that Delta now has 2.3 million litres,” he said.
Anyanwu said that 116 trucks distributed the products across the four states, saying that 55 trucks out of the trucks supplied petrol to filling stations in Delta.
“We had two vessels, one discharged on Wednesday, while the other discharged on Thursday.As of Thursday, we had over 62 million litres in stock and this is being distributed throughout the states. So, there should not be scarcity or panic buying.
“We are surprised to see the queue at filling stations, there is no need for that because we have enough sufficiency in stock, ofcourse, there was a case of adulteration in Lagos and others; the public does not need to panic.
“Although, truly speaking, the queues are gradually disappearing unlike on Wednesday.When we saw the queue, we immediately dispatched our surveillance team.
“They went to Asaba on Wednesday and on Thursday; they monitored Warri and environs to find out the cause of the queue,” he said.
Anyanwu added:”The preliminary finding for that of Asaba is that most of the Independent Marketers do not really have the product, but the Major Marketers had and were selling at the pump price.
“The few Independent Marketers that have fuel were selling above the pump price. So there is a tendency for people to go to where the price is normal. I believe that is what is building the queue.
“The next thing we are going to find out now is why the discrepancies in their prices.”
He said that the regulatory body would continue to intensify surveillance to ensure total compliance with the rules and regulations of the downstream operations.
Anyanwu, however, warned petroleum marketers against sharp practices in the downstream sector, saying that violators would be sanctioned accordingly.
