The Department of Petroleum Resources has sealed some petrol stations in Imo State, south-east Nigeria.
On Friday, the Zonal Controller of DPR in Imo, Roseline Wilki, led a team of officials on a routine monitoring exercise in Owerri, the state capital.
During the operation, some filling stations were sealed for selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, above the authorised pump price.
“We are here to ensure that there is quality, to ensure availability of the product, and to ensure that you don’t have adulterated product and that there is no hoarding,” Wilki told reporters at one of the filling stations sealed.
She added, “We are here to ensure that the operators are selling within the government approved pump price.
“We will definitely sanction those that are not selling within the (government approved) pump price and for the adulteration; we will make sure that they (consumers) get the right product.”
Wilki explained that the need to monitor some petrol stations became necessary because of the outcry over the increase in the price of petrol.
She stated that the action of the erring independent marketers was against the directive of the Federal Government on the sale of the product.
The DPR zonal controller urged the residents in the state to disregard any rumour of an increase in the pump price of petrol.
She also advised them to report any independent marketer who sells above the normal pump price to the department and warned operators against hoarding and quality delivery.
Wilki said, “Right from the depot, we are going to do carriages inspection and ensure that products that are being loaded are within the correct spec.
“They (residents) should not rely on black market products because wherever they find that there are issues, they should not hesitate to report to the department, and we have offices in almost every state of the Federation.”
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