DPR seals off 7 filling stations in Niger

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has sealed off seven filling stations in Minna, Niger State for selling above pump price.
The state operation controller of DPR, Engineer Abdullahi Jankara said the clampdown was necessitated by the failure of marketers to comply with price regulation.
“Some filling stations in Minna are not selling petroleum product at the government approved price while those who claim to be selling at the approved price have adjusted their pump.
“Most people still believe that they can do things in the old way in the distribution of fuel, all the independent marketers in Niger state do what they like but DPR will not allow it. The era of illegality is gone,” he warned.
He said the action was  in line with Federal government effort to effect change in the system and to make petroleum products available and affordable to the people in the state.
Long queue resurfaced in filling stations that are dispensing the product over the weekend, while most of the outlets, especially independent marketers.
The Zonal Financial Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Lukman told newsmen that his men are selling based on the rate they bought the product.
“We are not sabotaging government policy, we are selling what we buy. We buy from private deports who sell the product to us between N87 and N89 per liter    and this problem is not peculiar to Niger state alone, it is all over.”
“If government can ensure that we are given the products at regulated price, we’ll sell at the regulated rate. If not, we will have to close shop until we can get the approval to sell the product at the rate we bought because we cannot do business at a loss,” he explained.