The Department of Petroleum Resources in Bayelsa State on Friday sealed some petrol stations in Yenagoa, the state capital, for selling fuel above the government regulated price of N145 per litre.
Speaking to journalists during the exercise, State Controller of Operations, DPR, Mrs. Ejiro Ofondu, said the effort was to compel marketers not sell the product above the approved pump price.
The DPR monitoring team visited many filling stations in the metropolis to ensure that marketers complied with the price regime of N145.
It was observed that apart from the NNPC mega filling station along Sani Abacha Expressway that sold Premium Motor Spirit for N143 per litre, other stations sold the product above the approved price of N145.
At Sobaz filling station, Ekeki, Yenagoa, the product was sold for N210 per litre, while at Ereboter Oil, along Swali Road, also in the capital, the product was sold for N205.
However, the DPR compelled all the stations visited to sell at the normal price.
A petrol station, Ido Oil Nigeria Limited, along Melford Okilo Expressway, Yenagoa, was sealed by the DPR monitoring team for refusing to sell at the government approved pump price of N145.
However, marketers, who spoke with Saturday, bemoaned the development, describing it as an aberration.
The Manager of Ereboter Oil, Mr. Ere Peters, said, “We are not getting this product from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. I got petrol from Warri depot at N198 per litre. How can we sell at N145?”
Also, General Manager of Ebi Egrin and Sons Nigeria Limited, Mr. Austin Emmanuel, urged the government to try to know how the products were got and not always be in haste to assert their authority.
He said, “You can’t expect somebody to buy a product at a high price and sell at a lower price. This is not business. The government should do the needful to ensure that the product is available.”
But Ufondu, while reacting to marketers’ claims, said, “Our duty is to regulate pump prices, we are not suppliers, we don’t stock oil.”
Meanwhile, a mild drama played out when members of the Ijaw Youth Council in a convoy led by its Secretary General, Alfred Zimizigha, ran into the convoy of the DPR.
The Ijaw youths had warned that they would seal all filling stations in the state if they (filling stations) refused to stick to the normal price.
Zimizigha had complained that the marketers would revert to selling above pump price immediately the DPR team left the stations.
A car owner, who gave his name only as Mr. Otolo, while speaking to our correspondent on the issue, commended the DPR for the move
0 comments:
Post a Comment