FG to close down fuel stations selling above official price

Following growing concerns about petrol stations selling products above government set prices and worsening a prolonged situation of fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the Federal Government has said it will close down all fuel stations found breaching its market rules.

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, said this Monday in Abuja at a press conference, where he briefed members of the media on his ministry’s current efforts at containing the scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.

“Having taken consideration of some of the price modulation factors and reduced prices, a lot of filling stations in this country continue to sell products above prices that have been set by PPMC. This is very intolerable; it is ripping off innocent Nigerians, and doing it at a time when there is zero tolerance for this sort of misbehaviour,” Kachikwu said.

“I am seizing this opportunity to give the last warning to anybody who owns a filling station and anybody who owns a depot that we must go back to the price that has been approved by PPPRA and put in place by PPMC. The DPR approved price is N86.50 for non-NNPC stations and N86 for NNPC and affiliate stations,” he said.

According to Kachikwu, “If any fuel stations are found to be selling products above the official pump price, we are going to dispense the products for free, then we are going to seal those stations and I will not re-open those stations for a period of three months, and if any depot does the same thing, the same penalty will apply.”

Kachikwu also hinted on reported situations where people are keeping two rosters and invoices, one which is the official one and another one which is unofficial.

He insisted that Nigeria cannot afford continuous indiscipline in the system when people know what is right to do and, just for selfish profiteering, continue to do the wrong thing.

The minister said that he expected this practice to stop forthwith so that Nigerian citizens will begin to enjoy the benefits of strategic government interventions in ending fuel scarcity and ensuring availability of petroleum products.

“If we find people who consistently breach the laws of this country, we are going to ask DPR to withdraw their licenses as an extreme measure,” Kachikwu reiterated.

Concerning the cooperation of the public, he urged that if anyone buys products from the depots above the prices that have been mandated by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), they should send text messages to some numbers that DPR has already sent out.

The numbers, according to him, are going to be flashed on the TV so that they will be seen by everybody and people can report through them when they buy products anywhere at the wrong prices.

He further added that Nigerians are very internet savvy so it can be very easy for them to report such wrong doings, and that those breaching the laws of the land currently are doing so at the risk of their business continuity.