TheCable

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it will not hesitate to impose sanctions on marketers engaged in hoarding petroleum products.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sarki Auwalu, director of DPR, said the warning is a result of the emergence of queues in retail outlets in some states across Nigeria.

Auwalu explained that available records show there is product sufficiency in the country and there was no need for hoarding by any marketer.

“The DPR will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions on any outlet found wanting in this regard,” he said.

“The regulatory agency has set up a special taskforce to intensify surveillance and monitoring of all retail outlets and depots nationwide to check the anomaly.”

He also warned against panic buying, adding that DPR will continue to provide its regulatory focus of quality, quantity, integrity and safety for the effective operations of the downstream sector.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Sunday, urged marketers not to increase price or hoard petroleum products in order not create artificial scarcity and unnecessary hardship for Nigerians as the country has enough in its stock to last for more than 40 days.

Queues for petrol recently resurfaced in the federal capital territory (FCT) causing hardship for residents trying to get the product.