FG Cautions Fuel Station Owners Against Making Changes To The Pumps

Fuel stations that modify their petroleum pumps risk being penalized, 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, gas stations that are found supplying fuel using modified fuel pumps would face severe penalties, such as operating license revocation, suspension from operation, or closure, depending on the seriousness of the offense.

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 now is that we have some of our staff going round to take on-the-spot checks of some of the petrol stations. If you drive into a station and drive out, you will not know if you have been cheated until you do a measurement.

"Sometimes, we do a physical measurement where we go to some stations and buy one litre and look at that environment to see whether that one litre is really one litre. Then we will know whether or not they have tampered with the pump," he said.

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

"We have started the engagement, but this is just a formal collaboration on areas where we can improve revenue generation for the federation. There are two areas we have to look at, which are either to generate revenue or cut costs," he said.

He urged people to make investments in the economy's midstream sector, saying: "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. The area you want to invest in will determine the cost of investment; the investment opportunities are there."

The RMAFC Chairman, Mr. Bello Shehu, stated that the goal of the engagement was to improve the relationship between the two organizations.