Kamarudeen Ogundele, Ado-Ekiti
The Department of Petroleum Resources, has backed Governor Ayodele Fayose on his recent clampdown on some filling stations in the state.
The governor recently revoked the licenses of some filling stations sited in school, residential and commercial areas in the state.
The Official Comptroller of DPR, Mr. Wale Oseni, who led the DPR team to the Government House in Ado-Ekiti, expressed displeasure at the seemingly arbitrary manner in which some marketers sited their petrol stations in the state.
Oseni, who revealed that his team was already beaming its searchlight into the activities of the petrol marketers in the state, said a petrol station currently under construction in Adebayo Area of Ado-Ekiti, had failed to inform the agency of its operations.
He noted that the owner tactfully covered up the construction work in order to keep it away from public knowledge until completion.
He said, “Safety comes first and as a regulatory body, there must be a synergy between the DPR and the marketers to know appropriate sites where they could locate their stations. I will in due time make my findings available to marketers in the state.
Explaining the rationale behind his government’s recent clampdown on marketers said to have violated the DPR’s regulations, the governor disclosed that part of the efforts of the state government was to expose to the DPR, some alleged unwholesome dealings being perpetrated by some marketers.
Fayose said, “We have taken some of the steps we took to make the DPR see the situation of things here and to afford you the opportunity to see the sites of the controversial filling stations.
“As much as the government would want ventures under its watch to thrive, it will not do so at the detriment of the lives and properties of others. The last fire incident in the state capital has challenged us to be proactive rather than engaging fire brigade approaches.”
According to the governor, the construction of the filling station at the Adebayo Area of Ado-Ekiti was stopped by his government because it was being built on waterways after the last administration had demolished structures on the same land to ensure safety of lives and property.
