The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has sealed eight petroleum retail outlets in Warri and environs in Delta State following reported cases bordering on under-dispensing, operating without valid licences, poor safety culture and poor housekeeping.
The Coordinator of NMDPRA in Delta State, Victor Ohwodiasa, while disclosing this to journalists in Warri on Tuesday explained that the erring retail outlets were shut down on Sunday.
According to him, the erring petrol stations were located at Ifiekporo, Ughoton, Ubeji, Effurun/Sapele Road and Ovwian community in Udu Local Government Area of the state.
The coordinator said that the routine surveillance exercise was part of the regulatory authority’s core mandate of ensuring motorists and other petroleum product users got the right quality and quantity just as he maintained that it was ungodly for petroleum marketers to shortchange customers.
Ohwodiasa noted that NMDPRA had realised that operators of the sealed retail outlets adjust their metres during weekends and declared that the Authority would continue to go after them.
He said, “Our surveillance team was on the field on Sunday to checkmate the petroleum retail outlets on sharp practices.Twenty-seven stations were visited and eight among them were found wanting for various infringements.
“These facilities have been sanctioned and appropriate penalty will be meted out to them in line with the procedural guidelines of the NMDPRA.
“Some of them are first offenders and that notwithstanding, they will still face the wrath of the law. We have told them that we are keeping data on infringements. If they commit further offences, the punishment will be stiffer to serve as a deterrent to others. The essence is not for punitive but of course corrective”.
Speaking further, the coordinator stated that “the essence of the surveillance was to ensure customers got values for their money, one litre for one litre”.
He appealed to the public to always avail the NMDPRA, Warri of information whenever they notice sharp practices by petroleum marketers assuring that the Authority would take appropriate action on such information and give feedback to the informants.
He continued, “We urge the public to reach out to us whenever they notice issues of under-dispensing, poor housekeeping, unsafe practices, poor quality of products and among others. Customers should get value for their money. They should get exactly what they are paying for.
“There could be mechanical errors in the dispensing machine which the authority has created allowance for.
“Any mechanical deviation that is outside the normal range will attract the appropriate sanction to the erring filling station.”
Ohwodiasa also expressed concern that motorists and other petroleum consumers were made to pay charges for the PoS machines used in their transactions.
He, therefore, urged the public to report such cases to the Authority.
The coordinator noted that it was the duty of the station owners to pay the charges resulting from the use of PoS and not the customers.
Ohwodiasa, however, said that NMDPRA would sustain the tempo of the surveillance until all marketers comply with the rules and regulations of the Authority.
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