The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Bauchi State has cautioned petroleum marketers against unauthorised hike in pump price and hoarding of the product.
Abdullahi Iliyasu, DPR’s Operations Controller in Bauchi, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.
His warning came against the backdrop of long queues in some fuel servicing stations in parts of the state.
Iliyasu said that the Federal Government has not increased the price of the product, warning that defaulting marketers found short changing consumers would be sanctioned appropriately.
He said that the official pump price remains between N162 and N165 per litre.
The controller said that the department would intensify surveillance in the over 500 filling stations across the 20 local government areas of the state, to enforce compliance with the existing pump price regime.
He attributed the recent queues in filling stations to the shortfall in supply from the depots in Gombe, Kano and Jos, saying “we are working toward resolving the hitches.
“We constantly check against instances of diversion and other sharp practices.
“Reports indicated that some filling stations outside Bauchi metropolis were dispensing fuel at N170 per liter.
“This is unacceptable, we have since embarked on patrol across filling stations in the state.”
He maintained that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has enough products to sustain regular supply for over one month.
When contacted, Malam Anas Suleiman, spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) attributed the long queues in filling stations to decrease in the supply of the product.
Suleiman said that the initial product cost at the depots was N148.26k but now rose to N157.50k hence the hike in price.
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