The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Friday sealed no fewer than four filling stations over issues bordering on irregularities and operating without a valid licence in Cross River State.
The regulatory authority sealed the stations during a two-day routine inspection across the state.
NMDPRA officials visited over 50 filling stations during the exercise.
Effah Richard, who represented the regional coordinator of NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, explained to journalists in Calabar that one of the sealed stations operated without a licence while three others were sealed for under-dispensing products.
He said the exercise was undertaken to ensure that operators follow industry standard practice.
“As a regulatory authority, it is our responsibility to protect the users from being fleeced by operators in any guise. They (operators) are supposed to give value for what the end users are buying; a litre should be a litre, nothing more, nothing less. Operators must dispense what is paid for as a matter of responsibility.
“As for those operating without a valid licence in the state, they should understand that it is no longer business as usual in Cross River; this is so for various reasons, including environmental protection, the safety of lives and property, and so on.
“It is a delicate industry, and it doesn’t mean that anyone with money can just open a facility anyhow without due process, hence the need for proper licencing,” he said.
The affected filling stations are located in Calabar South and Municipality local government areas of the state.
