Ministry threatens to seal petrol stations selling above N87 p/litre

Abuja - Rufai Mohammed, Weight and Measures Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment, says the department is ready to seal any filling station that refused to sell petrol at N87 per litre.
Mohammed, Assistant Director of Oil and Gas in the ministry, said this in an interview in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, most of the stations at the outskirts of the city centre have likely reverted to the N97 per litre when the surveillance team left their stations.
There have been complaints from customers on filling stations at the outskirts of the city centre which sell petrol at N97 instead of N87 per litre as recently directed by the Federal Government due to fall in global oil price.
"At the last visit of the department to many filling stations in the FCT, 84 per cent fully complied; 33 per cent were selling with errors that can be over looked.
"Fifteen per cent were not selling, though they have the product underground; the filling stations were sealed. Five per cent were selling without Certificate of Verification while two per cent were not having the product," he said.
He said any filling station sealed after unsealing the certificate of verification became null and void, adding that the company must obtain another certificate which meant cost implications.
Mohammed said the department had offices in 30 states and there were some states like Ondo State overseeing the activities of Ekiti State while Rivers was overseeing the affairs of Bayelsa office.

He said every month the headquarters received reports from each of the states on their activities.
He noted that every three months, teams were sent out to the states to make sure that the state offices were working according to set guidelines and rules.
The department had on January 20 in Abuja sealed 14 pumps at six petrol filling stations for allegedly under dispensing petrol to motorists.
The enforcement team, led by the department's Acting Director, Mr Mohammed Sidi-Sada, sealed the stations for allegedly manipulating their meters and cheating motorists.
He said the ministry was out to ensure strict compliance with the Federal Government's directive on reduction of petrol pump price from N97 to N87 per litre.

- NAN