Officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has sealed up four filling stations in Edo State for selling premium motor spirit otherwise known as fuel above government official approved prices of N145 per litre.cr
The sealing of the filing stations followed outy by members of the public that most filling stations were dispensing fuel at prices as much as N160 per litre.
Affected filling stations were Foadal Oil at Airport road, St Taye Oil and Gas at New Benin, Asoline at Sapele road, Raptor oil and NIPCO Oil both at Upper Mission road.
Mr Enelama Victor, Head of Downstream, DPR Benin Zone who led the operation around parts of Benin City; the Edo state capital said the current hike in prices of PMS was due to the unwholesome activities of racketeers and middlemen hoarding the products so as to tarnish the image of the federal government.
Enelama said the federal government has not increase the price of fuel and that the distribution chain of the products by DPR was still being maintained.
He added that fuel is still being loaded to all the depots across the country.
The Benin DPR boss stated that his department was tackling the menace of racketeers and middlemen merchants in the industry which included the withdrawal of licences from marketers who engage in product hoarding and other unwholesome practices.
He assured that government would ensure that the distribution chain of petroleum products were not altered by marketers and cautioned motorists and other consumers not to engage in panic buying.
