The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said that fuel stations that are frustrating the Federal Government’s efforts to address the distribution gap in petrol will face stiff penalties as such Marketers of petroleum products in the country now risk serious sanctions
The Abuja Zonal Operations Controller of NMDPRA, Rosleyn Wilkie, said going forward penalties will range from a N200 fine per litre of fuel for petrol stations hoarding their products to a N100,000 fine for a gallon sold to black market operators.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has directed its members to, from today, start compiling names of marketers hoarding Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, or selling above official depot price.
Recall that the Union had Saturday given marketers 24 hours to revert to the official depots price of petrol or risk unpleasant consequences, claiming that unscrupulous marketers were selling PMS from the depots at prices above the official rate.
The Zonal Operations Controller disclosed the punitive measure on Thursday during the monitoring of some petrol stations across the Federal Capital Territory.
A fuel tanker can hold 30,000-60,000 liters. This implies that petrol stations hoarding fuel will pay N6 million for a 30, 000 litre capacity tanker and N12 million for a 60, 000 litre capacity tanker. She said, “The focus today is to ensure that there is no hoarding out there and any station we find that they are hoarding their products will be penalized and the charges for penalty is N200 per litre depending on the quantity you have and those pumps that are selling to jerrycans is a N100,000 per jerrycan.
