NMDPRA seals filling stations in Port Harcourt over alleged sharp practices

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, has sealed two filling stations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged under-dispensing of petroleum products and other sharp practices.

The affected stations were sealed on Thursday during a routine surveillance exercise by officials of the Authority across the Port Harcourt metropolis.

The Executive Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community of NMDPRA, Mustapha Lamorde, who represented the Authority’s Chief Executive, Rabiu Umar, said the affected stations would face sanctions for allegedly taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers.

Dr. Lamorde explained that the exercise also involved testing petroleum products to ensure they met the required specifications.

During the surveillance, Rainoil filling station along Station Road, Township, was queried over alleged under-dispensing and products said to be below the required specifications, while its management was warned.

MRS filling station at the CFC axis of Port Harcourt and Stageoil filling station at the Craft Centre axis of Port Harcourt/Aba Road were sealed over alleged sharp practices.

TotalEnergies filling station at Garrison Junction was also advised by the regulatory officials over alleged over-dispensing.

Lamorde urged members of the public to report filling stations suspected of engaging in sharp practices to the NMDPRA office in Port Harcourt.

He said, “Our men are always there and we want to assure Nigerians and even our brothers here in Rivers State and all over the country that we will continue to do our job, and I see this as a form of awareness, so that Nigerians should know that the authority is always there for them.

“We have our website, we have our social media handles, we have our contact numbers that we display.

“Nigerians can always contact us, and we are there to listen.

“Wherever you see any form of infringement as a Nigerian, you have the contact to call us and we will come and sanction that particular retail outlet.”

Meanwhile, the NMDPRA officials commended the NNPC filling station at Trans-Amadi for complying with the required categories of services during the surveillance exercise.

Lamorde also disclosed that it had upgraded its laboratories across its six operational zones, including Port Harcourt, to improve its capacity to test petroleum products and prevent those that fail to meet regulatory standards from reaching consumers.

He made this known during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with two companies to further strengthen the Authority’s capacity to conduct quality testing of petroleum products.