DPR to probe Oando Station for hoarding, as owner threatens agency Cautions marketers against under-dispensing to motorists

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has stated that it will investigate the activities of Oando Filling Station in Jakande area of Lekki, following threats by the owner of the station, Otunba Fakorede to sack the staff of the agency for attempting to seal his station for allegedly hoarding about 32,000 litres of petrol.

The agency has also warned operators of retail outlets against hoarding product and under-dispensing to motorists.

Officials of the agency yesterday visited Mobil, Petrocam, Forte Oil, Oando and World Oil filling stations in Victoria Island and Lekki areas as part of the efforts to intensify surveillance of retail outlets and check hoarding, profiteering and other forms of malpractices.

To ensure that the operators of the retail outlets were not shortchanging customers, the officials also checked the integrity of the pumps at the stations.

While Mobil and Petrocham were selling product to motorists without long queues, there was no product at Forte Oil as the station was said to have exhausted the 45,000 litres of petrol it received on Tuesday.

The team sealed World Oil filling station for under-dispensing to motorists.
However, at Oando filling station, the DPR team found out that the station had about 32,000 litres, but was not selling to customers as at the time of the inspection.

When the officials attempted to seal the station for hoarding, the manager and attendants of the retail outlet called Fakorede, who rushed to the station with a retinue of mobile policemen and aides.

While Fakorede was abusing the DPR officials and threatening to deal with them, his attendants and one of his aides were attacking a journalist and a cameraman that accompanied DPR for recording the incident.

The attendants also beat up one driver and tore his clothes after Fakorede had slapped him for recording the incident with his mobile phone and showing open solidarity with the DPR team.
On his part, Fakorede argued that he did not hoard petrol, stressing that both the DPR and OVH Energy (franchise holder of Oando stations) did not supply his station petrol to sell to motorists.

“OVH claimed that they gave me two trucks each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. But they only gave me one truck in each of those days. So, I went to them today to tell them that since they said that they gave me six trucks when it was only three trucks, they should give me the remaining three trucks. That was what I went to tell them and you can call them to confirm. Why should I hoard product when I struggling to get product to sell? Why should I hoard product at this level and destroy the reputation I have built?” he said.

He could not explain why his station was not selling when it had about 32,000 litres, which was equivalent to one truck, but threatened to use his contacts to sack some of the officials, claiming that it was in his presence that some of them were employed by DPR.

“It was in my presence that they employed Willy and I can sack him. If you give me the name of the other man, I can go beyond DPR to sack him,” he said.

According to him, he was already in the downstream business when some of the officials joined the regulatory agency.

He also threatened one of the leaders of the team and DPR’s Deputy Manager in charge of Retail Outlets and Marketing, at the Corporate Headquarters, Mr. Isa Ibrahim.
The situation almost turned bloody when one of Fakorede’s aides rushed inside his car to collect gun to shoot the cameraman.

But for the timely intervention of Fakorede’s mobile policemen, who whisked the cameraman away, the situation would have turned bloody.

When it became evident that the DPR officials could be over-powered, the leader of the team and DPR’s assistant director in charge of retail outlets’ monitoring at the downstream division, Mrs. Ijeoma Otti-Onyeri had to pacify Fakorede and his men.

She later told journalists that DPR would summon the owner and follow due process in dealing with the incident.

“Whatever happened there; we are not going to take it lightly. We are going to summon them and make sure that due process is followed,” she explained.