Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia
Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR) has urged Independent Petroleum Marketers in Abia state that are selling Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol against approved Pump Price to revert the official pump price of N163-165 or the risk of being sanctioned.
The DPR Operations Controller, Umuahia Field Office, Engr Emmanuel Okoro who was reacting to the current selling Pump Price of Fuel by some marketers in the State, gave the warning after monitoring some filling stations in Umuahia.
Okoro insisted that the Federal government has not increased the pump price of any petroleum products and wondered why marketers should decide to punish consumer by increasing their pump price without government or DPR approval.
The Umuahia DPR boss said that the Federal government was emphatic that the price of the products will not be increased for the month of March.
He said, “What happened was that the agency in charge of the regulation of the prices of Petroleum Products, Petroleum
Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) shared a Template on their website that suggested the price of fuel will be increased to between N 209 to 210.
“But the the Federal government has also announced that there is no increament at the moment. What happens is that when prices are increased, the government announces what will be the new price will be, but that has not happened in this case.
“During our monitoring exercise, we discovered that the Mega filling stations and Major marketers are still selling at current pump price, while the Independent marketers increased their prices out of panic.
“But we have spoken to the chairmen of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) Abia State Chapter) Dr. Uche Geroge and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Abia State Chapter, Mr. Bobby Dick. They assured us that they will get their members to revert to the approved pump price”.
The DPR State Field Officer however maintained that in line with its official mandate, the agency would continue with the monitoring of the situation to enforce compliance with government directives.
“Besides the pricing issues, we will also check to determine that the right quantity of products are dispensed to consumers. We will also check to ensure that retail outlets abide by all safety rules and have their current operating liences.
“Any retail outlet found wanting would be sealed’ he said.
