New fuel price: DPR seals 10 petrol stations in Kwara

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Tuesday shut down 10 petrol stations in Ilorin, the Kwara capital, for refusing to dispense fuel at the new rate of N87 per litre.

The Federal Government had on Sunday night reduced petrol pump price from N97 to N87 per litre.

The Operation Controller of the DPR in Kwara, Mr Amos Jokodola, who led the enforcement team, said the excuse given by the affected stations for failure to comply with government's directive was unacceptable.

He vowed that the stations would remain closed until they were ready to revert to the new pump price.

``If the affected stations were embittered by the economic implication of the new price, it is their duty to lodge formal complaints to either PPMC or the depot where they lifted the product,’’ he said.

Jokodola said the agency was not only enforcing the new pump price regime but also verifying the quantity and quality of fuel sold to members of the public.

"Our outing has been very challenging because of two issues members of the public have with the marketers.

“Some of the complaints the stations gave was that their technicians have not arrived from their headquarters to adjust the machine to the new price, but that excuse is not acceptable to us.

``Some stations which fall under that category are Oando, MRS and some others that have been sealed completely.

`` They will remain sealed until they reduce the pump price to N87 per litre as directed by the Federal Government.

"The other challenge that we have with some independent marketers was that some them got their stock on Saturday at the old price.

“ They felt that we should give them time to dispose off the stock before they reduce the price.

“We said no because the Federal Government's directive is that all filling stations across this nation should reduce the pump price from N97 to N87 from Monday morning.

"So if they have economic issues with their stock, they should discuss that with PPMC or with the depot where they got the fuel,” he said.

Jokodola said that DPR as a statutory agency had the responsibility of enforcing government’s regulations.

“Ours is to implement the Federal Government's directive and we are going round to ensure that stations comply.

“The compliance level has not been encouraging, but it is a war we are determined to wage.

"So far, about 10 filling stations have been sealed, including the majors marketers.

“What this means is that no operation, no selling, until they comply with new price of N87 per litre,” he said.