•To Demand Retail Outlets To Sell N295 Per Liter
Seven Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) depots have been sealed in Lagos, Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt and Oghara in Delta State by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), for selling above ex-depot prices.
This comes as the authorities shut down a retail station in Abuja that disrupted operations that were sealed and continued after the premises were sealed for violations.
Leading the authority’s monitoring team around filling stations in Abuja, the Executive Director, Distribution System, Storage Infrastructure and Retail (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Kalu Ukoha warned retail shops not to sell PMS above the official price.
Speaking on the impunity that characterizes the downstream sub-sector of Nigeria’s oil sector, Ukoha said the authority has the authority to prosecute errant depots and retail outlets in Nigeria.
His words: “Visiting this filling station (name withheld) shows the kind of impunity that goes on in retail outlets, which negatively affects poor Nigerians in terms of the extra money they have to pay to buy PMS.
“We received a reliable report that this station sells PMS N295 per liter, which is above the official and sealed price. Two weeks later, it is back in business after a management unsealed our seal alone. The authorities will not accept this type of impunity from any operator .
“There are rules and regulations that guide this environment and the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) are very clear about this. Everyone willing to do business in this sector must comply with the rules and regulations set out in the PIA. The authorities have strong prosecution powers very much that we will install directly.
Ukoha also hinted that the authorities will not hesitate to withdraw all regulatory privileges from any operator they want during the Yuletide season and beyond.
“Today, we have closed seven depots in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Calabar, and Oghara in Delta State to address related issues. The authorities and security agencies have received credible reports from operators selling PMS above the price official ex-depot.
The ED, which accepts that there are problems raised by operators, is authorized to engage with stakeholders and find ways to resolve them, explaining that all concerns will be resolved in the legal domain.
He added: “While we are engaging all relevant stakeholders to resolve all the issues that have been raised, the authorities will not accept Nigerians to ride, especially during Yuletide when most of the population is in transit from one end of the country to another.”
Ukoha warned that the closure of depots and retail outlets is an ongoing exercise to ensure strict compliance with regulations guiding the downstream sub-sectors of the Nigerian economy.