DPR seals 35 petrol stations

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Eket Office, on Monday said it had sealed 35 petrol stations in Akwa Ibom for selling fuel above the approved pump price of N87.

The DPR Operations Controller in the state, Mr Asuquo Antai, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket that, the stations were sealed in Uyo, Eket, Ikot Abasi and Nsit Ubium.

Antai said that the action was taken after the expiration of a three-day ultimatum given to the fuel marketers to revert to the approved pump price.

He said that the deadline, which expired on Nov. 5, was meant to restore sanity in the system.

"We have sealed 35 fuel retail outlets in Akwa Ibom after the expiration of our ultimatum for them to revert to the official approved pump price.

“The retail outlets were selling above N87 pump price during our inspection. We will continue the monitoring until all the filling stations comply,” Antai said.

According to him, members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in the state have made a commitment to sell the product at approved price.

NAN reports that petroleum marketers in the state had in the last one month sold fuel at between N105 and N120 per litre, attributing the increase in price to scarcity of the product.