The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) together with Department of State Services (DSS), in a bid to quell the persistent fuel crises since the Yuletide have sealed off six petrol filling stations in Port Harcourt.
The filling stations located along Peter Odili, Ada-George, Ikwerre and Iwofe roads, were sealed for over- pricing, hoarding and diverting products.
Conducting newsmen round the filling stations, the Port Harcourt Zonal Controller, Operations, DPR, Dr Ibani Frank-Briggs noted that some filling stations were sealed off because they could not account for the over sixty thousand litres of product supplied to them, while others hoard their product to be sold to black marketers at night.
According to him, “we visited 23 filling stations and we shut down six selling above pump prce”.
Frank-Briggs expressed regrets that the DPR has no jurisdiction over the selling of product at night and black marketers, saying, “for the black marketers, its not within our powers, once the product leaves the filling station, there’s nothing we can do, we leave that to the Civil Defence and other relevant agencies, ours is to ensure that the filling stations sell at correct price”.
The sealed filling stations include, Resto Park, Odili road, MRS Mile 3, Chinda Petroleum by Rivers State University, Mile 3 axis, Jets Oil, Ada George Road, Toninno, Ada George Road and Biddee, Iwofe Road.
Of these six, two Resto Park, Odili Road and Toninno, Ada George were being sealed for the second time for over- pricing, according to the DPR, Port Harcourt zonal operations controller, warning that, “any filling station that is being sealed for the second time will not lift product for the next six months”.

Tonye Nria-Dappa