Licensing: DPR to close 600 petrol stations in C/River

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) will soon embark on visits to petrol stations in and around the country to identify operators without licence.

The state Operations Controller, Bassey Nkanga, said they would likely seal up about 600 petrol stations that do not have operating licence.

He maintained that the stations had earlier been reminded about the exercise, adding that the dateline for registration had since elapsed - on March 31. He said less than 100 are known to be licensed.

At a meeting with officials of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) in Calabar, Nkanga said the owner of any petrol station that was shut during the operation would have to pay a fine of N250,000 before it would be unsealed for business.

“Any moment from now, we will embark on an intensified operation to ensure that marketers who have not renewed their licences are not allowed to operate.

“We have over 600 filling stations in Cross River and it is sad to note that only a little above 100 have their valid registration licences,” he said.

He advised that in order to avoid embarrassment, IPMAN members should display their renewed licences in their filling stations.

The operations controller frowned at marketers who were in the habit of adjusting their fuel pumps to short-change customers.