The Department of Petroleum Resources, Yola field office has warn filling stations yet to comply with the new petrol pump price of N121.50 per litre as directed by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to do so or face penalty.

The agency had on June 1sr further reduced the pump price of petroleum product across the country following the downfall of the price of crude in the global market as a result of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.

Comptroller of the Department of Petroleum Resources, Yola field office, Sadiq Danjuma Ibrahim, who went round on an inspection tour to check the level of compliance in the state capital said there is partial compliance to the new price regime by filling stations.

“When the reduction in petroleum product price was announced by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), I went out in company of my head of operations to randomly check some filing stations within the metropolis even before I got the directives from my head office. We checked sixteen filling stations and discovered that eight have already complied with the new directives, ” he said.

Sadiq said he has dispatched two teams within the state capital to ensure compliance with the new price.

He further stressed that they are making plans to visit filling stations outside the state capital to ensure total compliance with the new order.

According to him, “We are also going outside the metropolis to places like Mubi and other axis within the state to ensure that owners of petrol station comply with the new price regime. We have already dispatched a team to go outside Yola metropolis because a lot of malpractices usually takes place outside the state capital, so we are conscious of that and have taken note also.”

The comptroller said they have advised marketers who are yet to comply with the new price to do so or face penalty. “Those who are yet to comply have been advised to do so, so that when next we go out they won’t be found wanting, ” he said.

Ibrahim further maintained that “We already have existing penalty for defaulters. Petroleum controllers are given the powers to exercise and implement those powers. One of the penalties is charging of N100, 000 for each pump for failure to adjust to the new price regime. There are other penalties like the suspension of lifting which also ranges from the suspension of license.”

He warned marketers against giving excuses as reasons for not complying with the new price regime. “Their excuses which may not be reasonable have been that their directors have not given them directives on the new price. Others say their products are old stock and they have not gotten directives to sell at the new price because they will be selling below the amount they bought the products and they believe it will affect their business. It is because of these excuses that I advised them to adjust so that when next we go out they won’t be found wanting, because any failure to adjust will attract a penalty. We will not hesitate on that.”

Speaking on the successes recorded by the Yola field office, the DPR comptroller said that couldn’t have been achieved without the collaboration of stakeholders in the petroleum industry.

“Our success could not have been achieved without stakeholders’ engagement. We are always in contact with them and we intimate them on the dos and don’ts. In DPR, we don’t like shutting down businesses that is why we always engage stakeholders in everything we do and they always comply with new directive that is why the success rate in our Yola office is high, ” he said.