The Federal Government has said, the continued regulation of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, is causing stagnation and impoverishment of the masses.

The Federal Government has said, the continued regulation of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, is causing stagnation and impoverishment of the masses.

Speaking through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the government stated that it was high time that the regulation of the downstream oil sector was fully halted.

Providing answers to frequently asked questions on deregulation in a document made available to Reporters in Abuja on Sunday, the PPPRA stated that petrol was rarely sold at the approved rate in most states.

The agency said, the regulation of the downstream sector is one of the reasons for the stagnation and impoverishment of the masses.

The Petroleum Equalisation Fund is currently working on a technology that will check diversion, smuggling and adulteration of petroleum products as they are being moved from depots to marketers’ outlets.

The Executive Secretary of PEF, Ahmed Bobboi, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday.

He said he expected the system called Downstream Automated Fuel Information Management System to come on board by the end of the year.

Bobboi said the PEF has migrated from manual to automated system of carrying out its responsibility.

He added that the Fund had been using technology to track the movements of trucks conveying petroleum products at the loading point and the marketers’ outlets.