The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority (NMDPRA) has clamped down on Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria ( IPMAN), sealing two filling stations for the diversion of products.
Coordinator of NMDPRA in the state, Mr. Ikechukwu Eseka, made the disclosure during a courtesy call by the state Petroleum Products Monitoring Committee (PPMC) yesterday in Eket local government area of the state.
He explained that most marketers divert petroleum products after getting the products from the depot in order to shortchange the federal government.
The NMDPRA noted that the state was very diverse, and that most of the diversions take place in the periphery, regretting that some filling stations are not registered or licenced in the state.
The coordinator, therefore, urged depot owners not to sell products to filling stations without operational licence.
He said, ” Every marketer diverts petroleum products. To operate in the downstream sector, you must have a current license. Without current licenses, you can not go to any depot and load any product.
“I didn’t promise to partner with the committee, rather the Authority welcomed all organisations who wish to partner with it under the guidance of the Authority.”
He reminded the PPMC that NMDPRA was a regulatory body responsible for downstream and upstream regulations in the Authority’s entire value chain functions.
“We welcome collaboration and also ask that you assist us in making sure that things are done properly,” he stressed. He reminded the delegation that “petroleum products fall into the exclusive list of the legislature, which means that anything that happened to petroleum products, NMDPRA was solely in charge.”
He warned marketers to avoid diverting petroleum products to other destinations and warned of drastic consequences when caught.
The state chairman of the PPMC, Hon Godwin Ekpo, thanked the NMDPRA for the warm reception and called for effective collaboration between his committee and the regulatory body.
“We want to synergies and collaborate to achieve the objective by which the team was set up by Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom.
“Our duty is not to regulate the price of petroleum products but the market force determines the price which is not our mandate,” Ekpo said.
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