The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Eket field office has sealed 8 petrol filling stations for their refusal to revert to the government approved pump price of N145 per litre.
The DPR Operations Controller in Eket, Mr Tamunoiminabo Kingsley-Sundaye disclosed this to newsmen after while leading the surveillance team of the department to petrol stations across the state yesterday.
He said the eight filling stations were also sealed for various offences including diversion, and hoarding of the product.
Kingsley-Sundaye said that the filling stations sealed were located in Eket and Uyo, Local Government Areas of the state.
“The DPR surveillance team visited 25 filling stations in Eket, it was disheartening that one outlet who got product from NNPC station in Calabar, diverted the product.
“We have sanctioned those who violated government regulations and they are few who later comply and ready to reverse to government approved pump price.
“And others were selling above pump price of N220 per litre, it is unacceptable, those stations have been penalised and sealed.
Kingsley-Sundaye said that the department had begun surveillance to ensure sanity until normalcy return to the country.
He said that those filling stations sealed would be sanctioned and pay penalty to the Federal Government purse.
The Operations Controller observed that major marketers in Uyo are trying while most Independent marketers were selling above government approved pump price of N145 per litre.
He said that those stations who agreed to reverse to N145 per litre were supervised to sell their product to large extent in the areas.
Kingsley-Sundaye described the attitude of some of the marketers who refused to reverse their pump price as “impunity”.
“Surprisingly some of them show the attitude of impunity and therefore those once were been shutdown and appropriate sanction will be prescribed by DPR regulation,” Kingsley-Sundaye said.
He warned private depot owners and Independent marketers to sell their products at government regulated price, saying that there are rule and regulations guiding petroleum sector.
“Any depot who flaunt the government laws would be dealt with, everybody must respect the laws of the land,” he said.
Kingsley-Sundaye appealed to the public who buy fuel at the mega station to be orderly and behave themselves within the ambit of the law.
He called on marketers to bring evidence of buying fuel above ex- depot price from the depots so that the department would dealt with private depot owners who flaunt government laws.
Source:The Nation
