The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has shutdown LillyGold Energy Resources Limited, an Oil Marketing Company (OMC) belonging to the Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Mohammed Adam Baantima Samba.
The NPA had to undertake the operations after it emerged that the company was operating illegally after the authority had revoked the OMC’s licence since October 2022.
The authority in a statement earlier this year announced the revocation of the licences of about 30 OMCs across the country, which included LillyGold Energy Resources Limited.
The NPA Northern Regional Manager, Mr. Rasheed Dauda in an interview said the company by law seized to be in operations and neither the branding nor the logo was supposed to be in existence.
“For some time now, this retail outlet in Kanvili and another one around the industrial area at Lamashegu have been operating under the name LillyGold. We’re here to come and shutdown the station and caution the public not to do business with LillyGold,” he noted.
Mr. Rasheed added that despite that the company belongs to the NPP Chairman, the law is no respecter of any individual or organization.
“If you’re operating something that is illegal, it is illegal and so action should be brought to make sure that this illegality is remedy,” he emphasized.
The Manager stressed that this is not about the personality of the NPP Chairman and that any person found to be operating an illegal site will also suffer a similar action.
Meanwhile, the Manager of the Lamashegu branch during an interaction with the taskforce said the facility was operating with the licence of an OMC called Famous.
However, the Northern Regional Manager in his response said it was illegal and further challenge them to show prove of documentation which they failed to provide.
Caution
The Regional Manager advised the public to seize buying petroleum products from such Oil Marketing Companies, stating there is no any remedial actions whatsoever and the authority cannot intervene if something goes wrong.
“By law since the National Petroleum Authority is in charge of the downstream industry, we’re to ensure that such illegal outlets do not operate,” he stressed.