The Federal Government has warned oil marketers, threatening to revoke the licenses of those found hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
Daily Report Nigeria reports that the warning comes as the scarcity of petrol continues to plague several states, including Abuja, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and others.
According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), filling stations found to be hoarding petrol and selling to black marketers in jerrycans will face severe penalties, including the withdrawal of their licenses.
The warning was given by Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure at NMDPRA, during a recent inspection tour in Abuja.
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Ukoha stated that retail petrol stations must stop encouraging the sale of products to black marketers, as this poses serious safety concerns.
The regulator had also declared war on the illegal sale of petroleum products, particularly PMS in jerrycans, and has advised filling stations to desist from servicing illegal peddlers.
Despite earlier claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the fuel scarcity was due to a hitch in discharge operations and bad weather, the situation persists in many northern states.
The NNPCL had promised to work with stakeholders to resolve the issue and restore normalcy in operations, but the scarcity has continued.
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