The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said it sealed 65 filling stations for allegedly hoarding and selling petrol above government approved pump price of N86.50 per litre.
Asuqwu Antai, DPR’s controller in charge of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, disclosed this in Eket, Akwa Ibom on Wednesday.
DPR official seals a petrol station
He explained that the defaulting stations were sealed in Uyo, Abak and Ikot Ekpene.
After the agency closed the filling stations, Antai said the marketers continued to innovate ways of circumventing DPR’s operation.
He said the agency had embarked on 24-hour surveillance in collaboration with security agencies to ensure that marketers complied with the directive of the Federal Government.
”’They sell with our seal; they sell at night when they know that officials of the department will not be visiting.
“Our members will henceforth be going for inspections at night with the support of security agencies for surveillance,” he said.
Antai vowed that the department would resist attempts by marketers to sell above the government regulated pump price.
