The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. George Osahon, has said, henceforth, petroleum product marketers selling Dual Purpose Kerosene otherwise called kerosene, above N50 per litre, will be sanctioned.
He said it was particularly disturbing that some marketers were selling products particularly kerosene above the regulated price, warning marketers to desist from such an act, as DPR would from now on sanction any retail outlet caught selling kerosene above the approved price of N50 per litre
Osahon said this at the Annual General Meeting of DPR Lagos Zonal Office and petroleum products marketers (retail outlets) in Lagos on Thursday.
In his address, he pointed out that some retail outlets had continued to tamper with their pump meters in order to cheat unsuspecting customers in spite of the department’s constant warnings against such acts.
He said, “This is very disappointing and it goes a long way to show that many operating companies no longer monitor the activities of their stations. The stations have been left at the mercy of the dealers, station managers and pump attendants, and the companies are only interested in recouping their investments.
“The companies are therefore warned that this act must stop or we may be left with no choice but to impose stiffer penalty against any defaulting company, henceforth.”
The DPR also said some unwholesome activities of operators of filling stations as well customers who patronise them are largely exposing the facilities to incidences of explosion amid other mishaps.
Aside being dispensing points for petroleum products, most filling stations now also serve as eateries, car parks, car selling points, hawking areas, among others.
These activities, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources, were fast increasing the risk of explosion and other likely dangers on the facilities.
The Zonal Operations Controller (Lagos zonal office), DPR, Mrs. Chioma Njoku, said aside the aforementioned factors, activities of customers who patronise the stations, also had huge risk tendencies.
She identified the use of mobile phones in the course of transactions at the stations by either customers or workers at filling stations as a major safety concern considering possibility of explosions. She said the use of phones while dispensing petroleum product in cars or offloading into underground tanks by station operators was unacceptable.
Filling stations are also required to have fire extinguishers, buckets of dry sand, among others, beside dispensing points or loading points as fire-fighting measures in case of outbreaks.
