By Thompson ABISOLA
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it will soon start to prosecute defaulting petrol stations and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retailers in Ogun State.
The DPR said this had become necessary as some filling stations it sanctioned for committing one offence or the other had refused to comply with its rules.
The Operations’ Controller for DPR in Ogun, Mrs Muinat Bello-Zagi, said all filling stations and gas outlets must keep to the rules of the game.
Bello –Zagi gave the warning while speaking with journalists after her surveillance of some filling stations in the state.
She maintained that all gas facilities that were operating without recourse to the DPR would be made to face stiff sanctions.
Some officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) were deployed in one of the defaulting filling stations.
Bello-Zagi said it had become necessary to invite the NSCDC officials to the station as a result of the “negligence and stubbornness” of the dealer. We should learn to abide by the rule of law in this country.
“Some stations were served stop-work notice because they were renovating without recourse to DPR but a particular filling station refused to comply. That is why we are using force.
“The law states that they should get appropriate approval from the DPR before proceeding to renovate their premises but they did not do that.
“That contravenes the law and as such, they can be prosecuted for flouting the orders of the DPR and breaking its seals,” she said.
The DPR boss also said gas retailers who had flouted the law and had also broken the department’s seal would soon be prosecuted.
“This will serve as a deterrent to others that we are not joking. As you know, we have zero tolerance for any unsafe practices that can result to fatality,” she said.
