The Department of Petroleum Resources has said it will sanction any fuel stations found engaging in sharp practices.
The DPR also urged Nigerians to avoid stockpiling petroleum products at home during the festive season, saying there would be no fuel scarcity in the country.
Chief Technical Officer, DPR, Lagos Zonal Office, Mr Obafemi Ogunbanjo, gave the assurance during a surveillance and inspection visit to some retail outlets in the state on Tuesday.
The outlets visited by a DPR team, led by Ogunbanjo and another Chief Technical Officer, Mr Muhammed Abubakar, were MRS on Ahmadu Bello Way, Mobil on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, both in Victoria Island; Total, Oando and Forte Oil at Falomo, Ikoyi.
Ogunbajo said, “The purpose of the surveillance exercise is to ensure the integrity of fuel-dispensing pumps and ensure that products are available during the Yuletide and beyond.
“We want to advise the members of the public not to engage in panic-buying or stockpiling of products because there are adequate products across our area of coverage.
“So, there is no fear of scarcity during the festive period because the DPR is fully on ground to monitor activities of the marketers.”
He commended the Federal Government for introducing the ‘Operation White’ initiative to eradicate the smuggling of petroleum products across Nigerian borders, adding that the initiative should be sustained.
At Forte Oil, the DPR team discovered that one of the pumps was not dispensing the accurate volume of products and, therefore, sealed it.
Ogunbanjo said, “We want to assure the public that the DPR is committed to ensuring that they get the right quantity and quality of petroleum products at the filling stations.
“Any marketer who engages in sharp practices knows that there are sanctions, depending on the gravity of the offence, and we are therefore advising them to shun such activities.”
