The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), on Monday, sealed four petrol stations in Katsina metropolis for selling product above government approved price.
Engr. Muhammad Abdulrahaman, Controller in charge of Katsina Field Office of DPR, disclosed this in Katsina.
Abdulrahaman stated that the stations were sealed following routine surveillance to the stations.
“We discover that the stations were selling petrol between N170 and N18O per litre as against the government rate of N162 to N165 per litre, therefore, we sealed off the stations.
“We received intelligence report on the way and manner these stations sell their products to members of the public at exorbitant rates,” he said.
Abdurahman said that some of the petrol stations were hoarding their products only to sell to ‘black’ marketers at night.
He also dismissed as untrue insinuations over the increment of pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
“Let me dispel this rumours by some members of the public that government has increased the price of PMS (Petrol), this statement is false.”
The Controller said that the DPR in Katsina state was committed to ensuring that all filling stations dispensed their products in line with government approved pump price.
He pointed out that the sealed stations would be fined, adding that failure to pay the fines would lead to the revocation of their licences to serve as deterrent to others.
Also, DPR sealed two filling stations in Gusau, Zamfara State for violating its rules and regulations.
The Operations Controller in charge of Gusau DPR Office, Alhaji Yusuf Shehu, told newsmen of the sealing after a routine surveillance on filling stations in Gusau on Monday.
Shehu said that one of the two filling stations was sealed for selling petrol in jerry cans, while the other was sealed for selling the product at N185, which is above official pump price.
“You know few days ago there was rumour that some stations were selling above the regulated price in the state.
“You know DPR is the regulatory agency in oil and gas industry; our outing today is to ensure that the product is available, not diverted, to ascertain the quality of the product, and check price, as government has said no increase,” the controller said.
He said that the operation revealed 80 per cent compliance, with most of the filling stations selling between the range of N162 and N165.
“There was also compliance in safety and quality of the product”, the controller said.
Shehu called on fuel marketers to desist from hoarding, under dispensing and other irregularities.
He appealed to the public to avoid panic buying, saying that the department would make sure that the product was available to the people of the state.
The controller called on them to report any station found selling above the official price range.
