The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have warned importers and dealers in adulterated and substandard lubricants to desist or face prosecution.
Alhaji Isa Tafida, Kaduna Zonal Operations Controller of DPR, gave the warning in Kaduna at a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on regulatory requirements for the lubricant oil sub-sector.
The workshop was organised to sensitise stakeholders on the dangers of dealing in substandard lubricants.
He said that the storage, distribution and sales of lubricants without DPR licence, contravened section 4 subsection 1 of the Petroleum Act, 1977.
“The law states that nobody can import, store, distribute or sell any petroleum products without a licence granted by the Director, DPR on behalf of the Minister of Petroleum Resources,“he said.
“Stop proliferation of substandard lubricant brands, desist from sale of base oils as lubricants to motorists as that hinders the efficiency of an engine and also pollutes the environment,“ he said.
Also the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, has tasked the board and managementg of NNPC Retail Limited to ensure the delivery of unadulterated products to motorists nationwide.
Kyari gave the charge in a statement signed by Mr Samson Makoji, the acting spokesman for the Corporation, in Abuja.
He spoke during the inauguration of a new Board of Directors for the company.
He said that the management must strive to sustain the company’s culture of delivering unadulterated petroleum products to Nigerians in its filling stations.
He noted that the confidence of Nigerians in the company’s commitment to delivering high quality products and the right quantity at the right prices was a great asset to sustain.
He noted that the new management could leverage on the trust that the company had built to achieve the target of growing market share to 30 per cent.
“We have to maintain our viable operational strategies to advance our cause. NNPC Retail Limited’s management must focus to ensure that products are not adulterated and meters for both our own and our affiliate stations are not tampered with .
“This will make those who buy our products to derive maximum value for their money,” Kyari said.
