DPR Begins Clampdown On Petrol Black Marketers

IN a renewed bid to prevent petroleum products adulteration and ensure Nigerians buy genuine petroleum products, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has banned selling of petrol in containers.
The Head of Downstream Operations, DPR zonal office in Abuja, Mr. Yerima Kollomi, who disclosed this in Abuja Friday while leading a raid on road side marketers within the FCT metropolis, said the clampdown would be extended to all the states of the federation soon.
He added: “The action is nationwide because it is a directive from the DPR headquarters in Lagos. The Department would soon embark on the activity in every state of the federation to ensure that nobody engages in selling petroleum products illegally.”
Kollomi argued that scarcity of petrol cannot justify the activities of fuel touts who have taken the streets of Abuja and sell above the official price saying, “scarcity may encourage people to patronise them but that itself is not enough reason for people to engage in unlawful act and be allowed to go scot-free. It is also true that motorists get fuel easily though at exorbitant price but who is sure about the quality of the product? Because they are not regulated nobody is sure about the source of the product they sell. Most importantly, the DPR is concerned about the safety of the Nigerian people. Petroleum products are for specific purposes and when they are diluted with other substances can result to colossal damage of property and lost of human lives.”
He hinted that a petrol station in Gwagwalada, a suburb of Abuja, has been shut down for aiding marketers and selling above the above the official price of N97 per litre.
Kollomi stressed that all the arrested black marketers would be handed over to the police who will in turn prosecute them for engaging in distribution of petroleum products without obtaining the necessary license.  “Any road side marketer we arrest would be handed over to the police who will be expected to prosecute them at the courts. The law makes it mandatory for every marketer to obtain license to participate in petroleum distribution. Therefore, anybody who engages in selling petroleum products without obtaining the license has ran afoul of the law and he is liable,” he stated.
To ensure success of the operation, Kollomi solicited the cooperation of security agents in order to protect the property and workers of DPR during the nationwide operation.
He said: “The major challenge we have now is our inability to confront black marketers who are often well armed and ready to attack DPR workers. We really need the assistance of security agencies to give us the required backup to confront the black marketers. In fact, some of the sellers even attack and stone our vehicles and we discovered that many of them are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. We recognise the need for us to re-strategise in order to ensure we put an end to black marketers in the country and we are already putting accurate strategies in place to achieve the goal.”