No fewer than 13 Fuel Stations were on Friday sealed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for unnecessary hike on fuel prices in Akwa Ibom State.
Mr Joy Koro, the Team Lead, Distribution Systems Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, stated this during monitoring and surveillance exercise in Uyo on Friday.
According to him, such stations were sealed for selling far above government approved pump prices to members of the public.
“We shut down 13 filling stations that were selling far above the government regulated pump price.”
Koro, who is an Engineer, said that three filling stations violated government seal order, adding that the stations would be sanction accordingly.
He also said the such filling stations would not operates for a stipulated period in the state.
Koro warned marketers to desist from selling the products above government approved pump price and revert the pump to approved price in the state.
“The marketers were dispensing the petroleum products at prices higher than government approved pump price, such as N300 per litre and above.
“If you see any marketer selling above the regulated price, definitely that filling station will be shut down. Presently, there is enough petroleum products for marketers to lift to their stations,” he stressed.
He however called on the marketers to revert their pump price to government regulated price in the state to avoid sealing of their stations.
“The marketers know the government approved pump price, if we carry out surveillance and we see them selling at regulated price, we will not seal the filling station,” he said.
Tribune Online reports that most filling stations sell fuel between N300 and N320 per litre in the state, which has resulted in hike in other items in the market.
