The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to revoke the licenses of retail outlets selling petrol above the official pump price.
It urged the Federal government to force marketers and retailers to sell the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol at the official pump prices.
The association, through a statement on Tuesday, said: “We hereby call on the management of NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at the approved price.
“They should immediately mobilize all their staff in various locations across the country to monitor compliance and anyone found wanting, should have their license revoked to serve as a deterrent.
“Should this collusion go on unchecked, we will not hesitate to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians are not further exploited. A stitch in time saves nine.”
According to the statement, even as there were some markets that comply with the market rules, there were other ones that were sabotaging the process.
It said: “Even though we have some good marketers who tend to play by the rules, others who are overbearing have deployed methods of creating artificial scarcities in other to hike the price of the product uncontrollably as the prices of the product now sell between N185 to N650 depending on your location and outlet.”
The association insisted that there were over 30 days PMS sufficiency in the country; hence there was no basis for the current scarcity and hardship that Nigerians were being subjected to.