RSG, NUPRC To Sanction Filling Stations For Hoarding Fuel In Rivers

The Rivers State Government has threatened to take drastic measures against any petrol station operating in the state that wants to take advantage of the Yuletide season to shortchange the Rivers people.
The Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr. Peter Mede, gave the warning at a media chat in Port Harcourt at the weekend.
He noted that some filling stations had resorted to create artificial scarcity of petrol in the state for selfish reasons.
According to him, some filling station owners deliberately decided to hoard fuel, so that they can create scarcity and sell at higher prices.
“We have been working with the petrol station owners association, and their members have been complying to ensure that products are available in the state.
“But there are some fuel station owners who do not belong to the association, and would do anything they like just for their own selfish interest.
“Some of them have decided to hoard fuel in this Yuletide so as to create artificial scarcity, so that they can sell at higher price.
“These are the ones that government will come hard on, because we are not going to allow them to shortchange Rivers people, since they don’t want to be patriotic.
“A monitoring team has been set up in the ministry, and their job is to go round the petrol stations on daily basis to ensure that no station hoards fuel.
“If any station is not selling, they will find out why they are not selling, and if they are selling with few pumps, they will ensure that all their pumps must be selling.
“We will work in synergy with other relevant agencies of government, to ensure that there is no scarcity of product throughout this Yuletide period, and we will deal with erring fuel stations”, Mede said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has also threatened to sanction any filling station caught hoarding or selling petrol above the approved pump price.
Zonal Controller of NUPRC, Port Harcourt office, Professor Godday Ineh, who gave the warning during a telephone interview with The Tide source, said the queues witnessed in some petrol retail outlets in Port Harcourt was man-made, created as a result of panic buying from the public.

By: Corlins Walter & Tonye Nria-Dappa