Sharp practices: DPR seals petrol stations in Zaria, Hunkuyi

From Femi Oyelola Kaduna

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has sealed up some petrol stations in Zaria and surrounding areas for selling Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) at N190 per litre instead of the government approved pump price of N145/litre.
The Zonal Public Relations Officer of DPR, Rabiu Bello disclosed this in a press statement made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.
According to the statement, the action followed information received from patriotic Nigerians of selling above the recommended pump price in Zaria and environs. He added that some petrol stations were caught red handed in Zaria.
The statement further stated that the operation was led by the Zonal Operations Controller, Alhaji Isah Tafida , accompanied by the Civil Defence operatives. The team stormed Zaria and Hunkuyi, where he directed the stations to reverse to the government approved price of N145/litre.
Alhaji Tafida said as penalty, the companies were charged N100,000 per pump to be paid directly into Government TSA account; and the stations were also suspended from lifting products for three months.
Alhaji Isah Tafida warned all marketers who engage in sharp practices to desist or face stiffer sanctions, including withdrawal of their operating licences. He emphasized that government procured the product and it was sold to marketers at a price that guaranteed them reasonable profit margin.
He further warned that marketers should not assume that being far from Kaduna conferred any advantage on them to hike prices as they wished, and that DPR would not relent in its surveillance activities to ensure that products allocated to filling stations were delivered and sold to public at the approved rate per litre.
The Zonal Operations Controller appealed to the public to contact DPR through the telephone numbers provided on DPR website:www.dpr.gov.ng if they observed any malpractices at any petrol filling station.