The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Eket, Akwa Ibom, says 30 of the filling stations earlier sealed for operating in the state without valid licences have renewed their licences.
The DPR’s Controller of Operations in charge of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, Mr Bassey Nkanga, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket on Sunday.
Nkanga said that the filling stations had been reopened after meeting other conditions apart from the licence renewal.
He, however, revealed that some other petroleum product marketers in the state had operated for between five to 10 years without renewing their licences.
“Some of them have operated for between five and 10 years without renewing their licences and some don’t even have operating licences at all,’’ he said.
He said that the department usually considered some environmental and safety factors before giving approval to construct filling stations across the state.
The controller of operation added that some of the petrol stations were sealed for their improper location.
“We take into consideration so many environmental and safety factors. We do not grant approval for citing filling stations where it is not suitable.
“Even if approval was given in error in the past, we don’t waste time in withdrawing such,’’ he added.
The controller further warned against build filling stations without DPR’s approval.
Nkanga said that the department was partnering the Akwa Ibom State Urban Development Authority to ensure proper citing of filling stations in the state.
He said the Federal Government was doing everything possible to ensure that petroleum products were available to consumers.
The controller said the department was doing its best to discourage diversion and hoarding of petroleum products in the state.
“The volume of petroleum products supplied to Akwa Ibom and Cross River has been in the increase in the past few days.
“We are ensuring that the products supplied get to filling stations,’’ he said.
He warned against selling the products above the government approved pump price of N86.50 per litre.
