DPR condemns govt task force over harassment of oil marketers

dimeji akinloye

June 17, 2015 10:30 PM

The DPR boss decried the situation where the state task force sealed petrol stations and locked up marketers in the state.

DPR agent sealing a filling station.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has warned the State government Task Force against harassing, extorting and intimating oil marketers in the state as it is not in their place to do so.

The Operations Controller of DPR in Eket, Asuquo Antai, made the appeal in an interview with the NAN in Eket on Wednesday, June 17.

"It is not proper for the state task force to harass anybody that is doing oil and gas business under licence, these people were licenced under the DPR.

"It is expected that the state task force operations will complement the work of DPR, not negate what we are doing.

"But when the task force goes out to neither seal petrol stations nor pick locked up marketers, it becomes another issue all together,’’ Antai said.

He said the state government does not have powers to regulate and monitor oil and gas activities in the country.

"It is the prerogative of the Federal Government to regulate and monitor oil and gas activities all over the federation.

"The Federal Government in its wisdom set up the DPR laws to carry out these functions; DPR has been doing this diligently.

"It is not out of place for the state to ensure that business activities within its area of authority are done under control and in line with the rules of the land,’’ he said.

He said that when the task force observes lapses, they should report to DPR officials for necessary action.

"I can tell you that members of the task force have never been to the DPR office; I don’t know the members of the task force, I don’t know their mode of operation.

"So we don’t have a working relationship, the marketers had decided to take the issue to court,’’ he said.

Antai urged the task force to allow DPR carry out its functions and not to take laws into its hands.

dimeji akinloye