Six petrol retail outlets and an illegal gas refilling plant in Uvwie and Udu Local Government Areas of Delta State were on Tuesday sealed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Warri Zonal Office.
The NMDPRA Head of Operations in Warri office, Mr Goziem Chukwurah, led a surveillance team of the regulatory authority to seal the erring stations over offences bordering on under-dispensing and lack of operational licenses, among others.
The defaulters included Bwede filling station, Pius A. Idoghor Oil and Gas, Eshegbe Oil, Fetega Oil, and Sole Energy Enterprise, all in Orhuwhorun town, Udu LGA.
Others comprised Falcon Bay Oil at PTI Junction and another Falcon Bay Oil located along DSC Expressway, both in Uvwie LGA.
Chukwurah, while addressing journalists at the end of the surveillance exercise, on behalf of the NMDPRA Coordinator in Delta State, Engr. Victor Ohwodiasa noted that one of the mandates of the regulatory agency was to ensure that the masses were not shortchanged by the marketers.
He said, “The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that consumers get value for their money. One of our mandates is that one litre should be one litre.
“Most of the petrol stations we visited were selling without operational licenses, we had to shut down the stations and invite the owners to our office.
“We sealed six petrol retail outlets and an illegal gas plant for various offences ranging from lack of operational licenses and under-dispensing of petroleum products to the consumers”.
While assuring that the exercise would be a continuous one until the marketers do the right things, the NMDPRA official urged consumers to report any petroleum marketer who indulged in sharp practices to the regulatory body for appropriate action.
He also assured of the authority’s commitment to ensuring that petroleum product was available to the masses just as he warned marketers to desist from illegalities to avoid their stations being closed.
Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro gathered that a staff of Falcon Bay Oil was later apprehended for violating the NMDPRA’s seal on their dispensing machine while the suspect was handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.
