FG cautions fuel station owners from changing the pumps

Fuel stations that modify their petrol pumps risk being penalised, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

This was said by Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive of the NMDPRA, on Friday in Abuja during a discussion with commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

According to Ahmed, petrol stations that are found dispensing fuel using modified fuel pumps would face severe penalties, such as operating licence revocation, suspension from operation, or closure, depending on the seriousness of the act.

He claims that the Federal Government and oil regulatory agencies are very concerned about filling station operators adjusting the fuel pumps.

“What we are doing right now is sending some of our people out to do on-the-spot inspections of a few of the petrol stations. You won’t be able to tell if you’ve been duped if you drive into a station and depart without first taking a measurement.

“Occasionally, we conduct a physical measurement in which we visit various stations, purchase a litre, and assess the surrounding area to determine whether the litre is, in fact, a litre. Then, we’ll be able to see if they’ve tampered with the pump or not,” he said.

According to the head of NMDPRA, the organisation would keep working with RMAFC to increase revenue for the federation.

We’ve started working together, but this is merely a formal collaboration on ways to increase the federation’s revenue creation. We need to either increase revenue or reduce expenses, he stated, so those are the two areas we need to focus on.

“For example, if you want to build a gas plant, come to us; we will give you the guidelines and the policies, and you will come and invest,” he said in an appeal for residents to make investments in the midstream sector of the economy. The cost of investing will depend on the sector you choose; there are investment opportunities.

The goal of collaboration between the two institutions, according to RMAFC Chairman Mr. Bello Shehu, is to strengthen their partnership.