DPR laments over activities of motorists in fuel business

By Titus Atondu, Makurdi

Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority formerly referred to Department of Petroleum Resources, (DPR), in Benue State has frowned at a new dimension where motorists and motorcyclists fill their tank and immediately sell petrol to black marketers.

Operation Controller in charge of Benue, Taraba, Kogi, part of Plateau and Nasarawa States Mr. Gabriel Adagba made the feelings of the department known yesterday during an interaction with journalists in his office in Makurdi.

Adagba said it is hard as (DPR) in conjunction with Civil Defence and other security operatives have tried to stop this sharp practice but to no avail.

He observed that the problem currently faced in the five states is not that of distribution but supply of petrol, regretting that supply dropped to as low as just 45 trucks.

“As at last week, the supply we were getting for Benue and the other States was a far cry from what we use to load at the Makurdi depot. However, it starting picking up on Monday 21st though the effects is not seen yet because people are still in a panic buying mood. People should buy what they need. Now we are loading up to 107, 135-150 trucks . We did not shut down any filling station so as not to worsen the situation. There were  2 cases of bad fuel and it has been withdrawn and taken back to the depot,” Adagba said.