The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, on Friday, sealed 11 petrol filling stations in Rivers State for engaging in sharp practices including under-dispensing products to the public, using failed pumps and other regulatory infractions.
The affected petrol stations are located in Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas of the state respectively.
The Regional Coordinator, South-South of the NMDPRA, Victor Owodiasa, who disclosed this while speaking to newsmen after the enforcement, said the exercise is under the authority’s ongoing ‘Operation One Litre for One Litre’ surveillance initiative.
Owodiasa explained that the operation is aimed at protecting consumers and ensuring that members of the public receive full value for their money when purchasing petroleum products.
“In exercise of our regulatory mandate, we have decided to upscale our surveillance activities and to ensure that the general public gets one litre for one litre. It is either you’re dispensing within the bandwidth or we shut you down to correct the pump to do the needful.
“So far so good, for the operation of today a total of eleven facilities were sealed and they will remain sealed until the integrity of those pumps is confirmed okay before we unseal them”, he stated.
Owodiasa however said, “However, it is not just for them to correct it and we unseal it. If we discover that some of them have become persistent or perpetual offenders we will be left with no option but to recommend revocation of their licences.”
(Punch)
