Fuel Scarcity: DPR Partners Security Agencies To Dismantle Black Market Spots In Abuja

Department of Petroleum Resources, black market, Aliyu Halidu, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, petrol, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Friday said it was partnering other relevant government authorities to dismantle black market spots of petrol in Abuja.

The department said that the black market operations were complicating the petrol supply crisis in the federal capital and environs which worsened on Friday.

Mr Aliyu Halidu, the Zonal Operations Controller of DPR in Abuja, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Halidu said that the current petrol scarcity was artificial and warned oil marketers to stop hoarding the product.

He disclosed that DPR was collaborating with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board to ensure that oil marketers were not hoarding nor selling petrol to black market operators.

Halidu said the agency had intensified its monitoring activities to ensure availability of petroleum products in and around the city.

He said that the agency was also monitoring the lifting of petrol by marketers from the depot to various filing station across the zone to ensure that consignments were not diverted.

“We have the checks and balances to know if the marketers are hoarding or not and if we catch anyone, we will report to Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) in addition to the sanction we will give them at our end,” he said.

Halidu, therefore, warned marketers not to indulge in sharp practices like hoarding of petroleum products, stressing that the agency would deal with offending marketers.

He advised motorists not to engage in panic buying as there was enough petrol to meet their needs. (NAN)