By Adewale Sanyaolu
Efforts to sanitise the lubricants arm of the downstream sector may have started yielding the expected result as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has uncovered two illegal engine oil blending plants in Lagos.
The two arrests were carried out in the Marine Beach area of Apapa and Raji Rasaki Estate in Festac Town.
The DPR team, led by the, Manager, Engineering and Standards Unit, Mrs. Sholabi Olanrewaju, told journalists that the illegal blending sites were uncovered during a routine inspection and monitoring excersie in the state.
“We visited the two plants in company of Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials and met the adulterators dispensing the base oil. From our investigations, they are actually retailing ordinary base oil without addictive into a container of a well known brand- Total,’’ she said.
Olarenwaju said that the department would ensure that they get at every illegal lubricant blending plants within the Lagos metropolis.
She explained further that before anybody could engage in petroleum product business in Nigeria; such firm must be licensed while its operations must be certified to have met stipulated standards by the DPR.
Manager, Retail Outlet and Marketing Department, DPR, Mr. Okechukwu Okoro, Manager, said that the clampdown on the illegal blenders was as a result of series of complaints from unsuspecting members of public.
Okoro said that the department equally discovered the high prevalence level of adulterated diesel in the market, warning that those who order for home delivery should endeavour to ascertain the source of the product before they are used, especially for heavy duty generating set