The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Monday advised Lagos residents to shun panic buying and stockpiling of petroleum products at home during the Yuletide.
The DPR, which is the regulator of the petroleum industry, also assured the residents that there would be no scarcity of products before, during and after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Obafemi Ogunbajo, Chief Technical Officer, DPR, Lagos Zonal Office, gave the assurance during surveillance and inspection visits to some petroleum retail outlets in the state.
The outlets visited by the DPR team include MRS Filling Station, Ahmadu Bello Way, and Mobil Filling Station, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, both in Victoria Island.
Others are Total Filling Station, Oando Filling Station and Forte Oil all at Falomo axis of the state.
Ogunbajo said:” The purpose of the surveillance exercise is to ensure pump integrity by retail outlets and also ensure that products are available during the Yuletide and beyond.
“We want to advise the members of the public not to engage in any panic buying or stockpiling of products because there are adequate products across our area of coverage.
“So, there is no fear of scarcity during the festive period because the DPR is fully on the ground to monitor activities of the marketers.”
He commended the Federal Government for developing “Operation White’ to eradicate the smuggling of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across Nigerian borders, adding that the initiative should be sustained.
Ogunbajo said that of all the filling stations inspected, only one pump at Forte Oil was discovered not accurate and the pump was sealed by DPR officials.
“We want to assure the public that the DPR is committed to ensuring that they get the right quantity and quality of petroleum products at the filling stations.
“Any marketer who engages in sharp practices knows that there are sanctions, depending on the gravity of the offence, and we are therefore advising them to shun such activities,” he said.
