THE Federal Government has warned that it will revoke the licenses of oil marketers found hoarding premium motor spirit (PMS) amid the ongoing scarcity in Abuja and several other states in the country.
Several states, particularly in the north, have been experiencing prolonged petrol scarcity, leading many stations to shut down due to lack of supply.
The federal government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has warned oil marketers that stations hoarding petrol for sale to black marketers in jerry cans will have their licenses revoked.
During an inspection tour in Abuja, the regulator released a video featuring Ogbugo Ukoha, NMDPRA’s Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, delivering a warning to fuel marketers.
“You need to take this (warning) very seriously. If you need security reinforcements, speak to your management,” Ukoha stated.
Aside the video clip, the downstream regulator announced on its X handle that it has declared a crackdown on the illegal sale of petroleum products.
“NMDPRA embarks on a war against the illegal sale of petroleum products especially PMS in jerry cans. Filling stations are advised to desist from servicing illegal peddlers, failure to do so would result in the suspension of retail licenses,” the statement read.
https://x.com/NMDPRA_Official/status/1824047227259490308
Earlier this month, The ICIR reports that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) claimed the hunger protest was responsible for the resurgence of long fuel queues in major cities across the country.
Fuel queues started to build up in some filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Friday, July 26. Motorists were seen engaging in panic buying, as most stations closed shops while others hiked their pump prices.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) blamed it on a “hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels,” The ICIR reported on July 27.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected]