There was wild jubilation on Monday at Mani Petrol Station, Mowe,
Ogun State as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), sanctioned
the owner and instructed him to dispense fuel for free to motorists.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Head of Operations, DPR
office in the state, Kasali Akinade, had earlier visited the station to
warn the owner to start selling at the approved pump price.
NAN also reports that DPR officials had to return to sanction the
owner because he refused to comply with their earlier directive.
Speaking with journalists, Kasali said it had become imperative for
him to make a “scapegoat” out of the station, so as to serve as a
deterrent to others around the area.
He wondered why people would want to make life difficult for fellow
citizens, saying the department has zero tolerance for such act of
indiscipline.
“We got a tip-off that they are hoarding and selling at N220 per
liter. We came here and instructed him to start selling at the approved
pump price and forgave him for what he did.
“But as soon as we left his station, he reverted back to the old
price and even stopped selling. We had to turn back and make a scapegoat
out of him.
“This will serve as a deterrent to others because we treated him as a
gentleman at first, but he decided to sabotage the efforts of the
federal government,” he said.
He advised other marketers to quit short-changing the public, saying
if they have any grievances, they should channel it to the appropriate
quarters rather than taking it out on the masses.
Some customers who spoke with NAN expressed their joy at the DPR’s
intervention, saying they needed such acts while also advising proper
monitoring on the part of the authorities.
NAN reports that other stations visited that were hitherto not
selling were made to start selling just as those who were selling above
pump price were made to revert to the normal price of N145 per litre.
NAN