Government closes 270 filling stations, deploys DSS

The federal government is now deploying Department of State Services agents on tanker trucks carrying Premium Motor Spirit, colloquially known as gasoline, to service stations to stop the diversion and smuggling of the product.

More than 120 DSS officers had already been deployed to track fuel tankers to their various outlets in Abuja, while more security forces were called to the exercise for nationwide coverage.

This came as the government revealed on Thursday that it had closed more than 270 filling stations for involvement in a variety of violations, including hoarding and selling above the approved price.

The Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari made the announcement in Abuja on a live television program followed by our correspondent.

Speaking about the efforts being made to halt the diversion and cross-border smuggling of PMS, Kyari said: “So much is happening, there are government security interventions.

“I know the kind of work we do with the security services, in Abuja alone we have more than 120 DSS agents tracking every truck to gas stations and we are activating it all over the country.

“We make sure that other government security services track these trucks to their locations, to make sure that these trucks actually get to the gas stations and are not sold on the way and do not cross the border. .”

Kyari had previously explained at a stakeholder meeting in Abuja that the fuel was being smuggled from Nigeria to other countries, insisting that the current PMS scarcity was not due to the upcoming general election.

“There is no doubt that our fuel ends up in other countries, including in sea containers. We now have evidence that some of our clients are actually bringing investors to other countries and we will get to the bottom of this.

“The competent security services of the government will handle this. But this is the reality we are dealing with. You have cross-border smuggling, in the form of tours or whatever we call it.

“So the 66 or 67 million liters that you’ve always seen includes all of these, the cross-border smuggling volumes. And it means that every time we fail to satisfy those markets, it will affect your domestic market. This is the reality we are dealing with,” he said.

The NMDPRA boss, while speaking of sanctions against downstream operators who violated the approved regulations, stated that more than 270 filling stations and seven depots had been closed

Ahmed said: “Because of the control we have in most of the major cities be it Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, etc, the marketers tend to go to the countryside where you can get petrol at a high price can buy.

“And of course it is our responsibility as a regulator to ensure strict control and enforcement. What we did was we had to close about seven depots a few weeks ago because of the inflation of their ex-deposit price.”

He emphasized that in addition to closing the depots, hundreds of gas stations were also closed by the government for non-payment.

“In addition to closing the depots, we also closed more than 270 stores. We are doing our job and this has brought some peace in some areas,” he said.

Ahmed added: “But again, Nigeria is a huge country and there are many challenges. So as we continue to close outlets, we’re going to create another flashback, because the more you stop, the less gas is available to serve the country.

“So we also need to do our own internal assessment to see what the risks and benefits are of what and where to do.”