DPR seals 87 erring filling stations over sharp practices

The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, yesterday, sealed 87 petrol filling stations facility for various act of sharp practices.

They sharp practices of the stations were uncovered after a week long surveillance operations of retail outlets in the Lagos Zonal area.

The affected stations either had some of their pumps sealed off or the entire facility completely shut down as a result of various infractions which ranged from under dispensing of petrol to illegal operation of a station without a license, and in some cases, outright abandonment of the facilities.

Some stations were fully sealed for several accounts of under-dispensing petrol products in a large scale across its machines, while others had specifically recorded their pumping machines under-dispensing petrol to buyers.

Hallmark however gathered that the defaulters had earlier received series of warnings from the industry regulator to desist from sharp practices leading to the illegal increases in the pump prices of premium motor spirit, petrol and kerosene, which enjoy federal government subsidy.

However, the affected stations caught includes: Mobil at Owode Bus Stop, Ikorodu, So Super Limited (Sahara), General Oil Limited, Ketu, Walesaf, Owode-Idera Bus Stop, Ikorodu Road and HS Petroleum at Ketu.

At Mobil, where its pumps were under-dispensing, 150 litres of water were found in 30,000 litres of PMS in one of its tanks. Two pumps were sealed at MRS station at Alapere, Ikorodu Road.

At NNPC station at Irawo Bus Stop, Ikorodu Road, three of its pumps were sealed for under-dispensing. 

Others were Kaz Oil, Lakowe; Forte Oil, Gulf road, Lakowe; Ona Ara Oil and Gas Station; Forte Oil, Molete; Wakass, Igando-Oloja; Forte Oil, Abule Folly Ibeju, and Forte Oil, Oribanwa Ibeju Lekki;The monitoring tour, which was led by the Deputy Manager, Retail Outlets, Lagos Zonal office, Mr. Olusegun Dabo, lasted for about four hours.

The Forte Oil station at Oribanwa was sealed for hoarding 24,000 litres of PMS and refusal to open pumps for testing by the DPR officials.

Kaz Oil, whose pumps read N86.50 per litre at the time of the visit, under dispensed PMS by 0.8 litre for every 10 litre, thereby making buyers the product above N90 per litre.

Ona Ara Oil and Gas Station, where there was no one to attend to the DPR inspectors, was sealed as the officials believed the pumps were switched off and abandoned on the news that the DPR was at the neighbour station, Kaz Oil.

At Forte Oil along Gulf road, Lakowe, two of the pumps were under dispensing by 0.98 litre and 1.06 litre for every 10 litres.

Speaking to newsmen after the inspection, Mrs. Chioma Njoku,  Zonal Operations Controller, Lagos, stated that the call was imperative to bring to transparency operations in the sales of petroleum product so as to restore confidence of the masses to the government.

According to her, these sharp practices by marketers have cost the public and the economic a great deal.

She said, “Some of them engage in manipulating their pumps that under-dispense to the public, which is a way of over-charging the buyers and they bear the brunt of it when caught.