The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has commenced the
clamping down on illegal and erring fuel stations in the three
senatorial districts of Plateau state.
The clampdown was based on the fuel stations’ improper operations
including hoarding, inordinate licencing/lack of proper records and
selling above the approved pump price of N145 per litre, leading to the
sealing of some of them.
Speaking at commencement of the operation, the Head, Downstream
Monitoring and Regulation of DPR, Amodu Fagge, said the marketers
sabotaging government effort should desist and join hands with the
government in developing the oil sector and the nation’s economy by
extension, otherwise the DPR will not relent in bringing them to book
and applying the necessary sanctions.
“The three filing stations we sealed in Jos South and Mangu local
government areas are due to their illegality, hoarding and/or the
adjustment of their pumps in order to sell beyond the usual pump price
of N145 per litre.
“Some of the filing stations are even illegal and not in our records
and register, and we don’t know of their operations. We stopped their
operations by sealing their filing stations and then asked them to come
to our office to let them know what the guidelines to operating a filing
station.
“We do this operation routinely and we have a roster which we follow
to check up on all the filing stations across all the nooks and crannies
of the state. We now do it in phases and those areas we don’t touch
regularly, we will be touching them henceforth so that every corner of
the state can feel the impact of our operations.
“Doing so will also ease out all the tensions around
hoarding/scarcity and fuel queues, thereby restoring confidence in the
motorists and other fuel users,” he said.
Fagge advised people to restrain from any form of panic buying of
petroleum products, saying that the fuel supply to the state has
increased and will now be more available, and that buying of fuel to
store at home, other than the one for immediate use, is dangerous.
According to him, fuel queues are gradually disappearing in the state
as most filling stations don’t often have many cars, motorcycles and
buyers crowding them up as it was the case weeks back during the intense
fuel scarcity.
“Actually, if anyone has the need to construct a filing station,
there are some criteria to be met which must be in tandem with town
planning regulations as well as regulations from other government
agencies and the DPR itself. First, you have to check the environment in
terms of safety and to assess the place to know whether it is safe for
the public and all of that?
“Secondly, you have to check out the size of the station to be sure
it is the required size. The required size is 30 meters by 30 meters.
“The place will also be checked to know whether it is a residential or commercial area, among other things,” he added.