The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, on Friday, sealed four filling stations in Cross Rivers over issues bordering on irregularities and operating without valid licences.
The regulatory authority shut the stations during a two-day routine inspection across the state.
NMDPRA officials visited over 50 filling stations during the exercise, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The report quoted the Regional Coordinator of NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, that some stations were sealed while other stations were cautioned.
Ene-Ita explained that while one of the sealed stations was operating without a licence, three others were sealed for under-dispensing products.
He said the exercise was embarked upon to ensure that operators followed the industry standard practice in their operations.
“As a regulatory authority, it is our responsibility that the users are protected from being fleeced by operators in any guise.
“They (operators) are supposed to give value for what the end users are buying; a litre should be a litre nothing more nothing less. operators must as a matter of responsibility dispense what is paid for.
“As for those operating without a valid license in the state, they should understand that it is no longer business as usual in Cross River; this is so for various reasons, including environmental protection, the safety of lives and property and so on.
“It is a delicate industry, and it doesn’t mean that anyone with money can just open a facility anyhow without due process, hence the need for proper licensing,” he said.
The filling stations that were sealed are located in South Calabar and Municipality Local Government Area of the state.