The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, North West Zone, has sealed two filling stations located in Zaria and Hunkuyi local government areas of Kaduna State for selling Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, at N190 per litre.
The DPR in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Mallam Rabiu Bello, said the Zonal Operations Controller, Alhaj Isah Tafida, led a team accompanied by Civil Defence operatives, to the sealed stations in Zaria and Hunkuyi, where he directed a reversal to government approved price of N145/litre and monitored sales.
According to the statement, “As penalty, the companies were charged N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) per pump to be paid directly into Federal Government TSA account.
“The stations were also suspended from lifting products for three months.”
The statement added, “Tafida warned marketers who engage in sharp practices to desist or face stiffer sanctions, including withdrawal of their operating licences.
“Government procured the product and it was sold to marketers at a price that guaranteed them reasonable profit margin.
“Marketers should not assume that being far from Kaduna conferred any advantage on them to hike prices as they wish.”
It assured of the agency’s resolve to intensify surveillance to ensure that products allocated to filling stations were delivered and sold to public at the government approved rate.
The statement said that the agency had deployed its personnel to Zaria and other areas to monitor the sale of fuel in filling stations.
This, it said was “in response to information received from patriotic citizens that marketers were selling Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) above the Government approved pump price of N145/litre in Zaria town and some remote locations.”
The statement said the Zonal Operations Controller appealed to the public to contact DPR through the telephone numbers provided on DPR website: www.dpr.org.ng if they observe any malpractices at any petrol filling station.
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