The Adamawa office of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said it renewed the operation licences of about 85 per cent of the existing 530 petroleum stations in the state.

Sadeeq Ibraheem, NMDPRA’s regional coordinator, disclosed this in Yola on Monday.

Mr Ibraheem explained that the remaining filling stations that could not complete the renewal of their licences were waiting for tax clearance certificates from the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

He explained that the agency would not renew operations documents of a retail outlet without an accompanying tax clearance certificate, stressing that it would not compromise the basic policy requirements.

He stated that challenges facing the agency’s operational activities included unnecessary objections from communities in building new petrol stations even after due processes were observed.

The coordinator emphasised that the agency had since prohibited siting of filling stations within the radius of 20km to the borders, and operational licences of stations close to borders were suspended.

He added that the initiative was aimed at curbing the smuggling of petroleum products to Cameroon and other neighbouring border towns, saying the agency appreciated the efforts of the Nigerian Customs for their support on this issue.

Mr Ibraheem warned the independent marketers against diverting petroleum products, compromising safety measures and under-dispensing of fuel to consumers.

(NAN)