We’ll sanction petrol stations altering pumps, says NMDPRA

By Abubakar Yunusa

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it will sanction filling stations that alter petroleum pumps.
Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, gave the warning during an interactive session with commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja.
He said defaulting petrol stations will face sanctions such as revocation of operating licences, suspension from operation, or shutdown — depending on the gravity of the offence.
Ahmed said the adjustment of pumps by filling station operators is a major concern to the oil regulatory bodies and the federal government.
“What we are doing now is that we have some of our staff going round to take on-the-spot checks of some of the petrol stations,” he said.
“If you drive into a station, drive out, you will not know if you have been cheated until you do a measurement.
“Sometimes we do a physical measurement where we go to some stations and buy one litre, look at that environment to see whether that one litre is one litre.
“Then we will know whether or not they have tampered with the pump.”
Ahmed said the authority will continue to collaborate with the RMAFC to generate more revenue for the federation.
“We have started the engagement but this is just a formal collaboration on areas where we can improve the revenue generation for the federation,” he added.
“There are two areas we have to look at which are either to generate revenue or cut costs.”
Ahmed also asked the public to invest in the midstream sector of the economy.
“For example, if you want to build a gas plant, come to us, we will give you the guidelines, the policies, and you will come and invest,” he said.
“The area you want to invest in will determine the cost of investment; the investment opportunities are there.”
On his part, Bello Shehu, RMAFC chairman, said the engagement between both organisations is to seek ways to improve operations in the country as well as strengthen partnerships.
He said RMAFC is interested in “what they [NMDPRA] do and what we can do as a commission to assist them to better boost revenue generation for Nigeria”.