Fuel scarcity looms as IPMAN issues 2-week warning strike

There are strong indications that fuel scarcity is imminent as Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) issued a two-week warning strike over alleged extortion by Depot owners and officials of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) at various depots across Lagos State.

The oil marketers said it may also shut down all its over 2000 member filling stations across Lagos State and its environs.

IPMAN stated this in a statement jointly signed by its Lagos chapter chairman, Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, and his General Secretary, Prince Kunle Oyenuga.

According to IPMAN, its members were expected to buy a litre of fuel at the rate of N133.28 per liter from the private depots owners and sell at N145 per litre to the public in accordance with the Federal Government’s directives, which the depots owners ignored but sell to fuel station owners at the rate of N141.00 per litre.

The association explained that the NNPC supplies the private depots at controlled prices, yet the private depot owners refused or ignored the Federal Government’s fixed price.

The statement explained that if a litre of fuel is bought from the depots, it would take N3.00 to transport it to their fuel station, apart from paying staff salaries, bank charges and interests and all other expenses.

“If an IPMAN member, buys a tanker of fuel at the rate of N4,752,000, he can only make a profit of N33,000 out of which bank rates and interests, and staff salaries will be paid plus other logistics.

“To worsen the situation, the DPR knows all these facts, yet, it turned its eyes away and begin to intimidate and extort money from IPMAN members for alleged under-measures which is not true,” it stated.

The statement posited that the association members have been running their oil business at a loss and could no longer bear the losses, hence it decided to embark on two weeks warning strike, to alert the attention of the government and the public.

The association has therefore given the Federal Government, DPR, NNPC and PPPRA two weeks, beginning from March 1-15, 2017 to wade into the matter and do the needful, failure which will necessitate its members to withdraw their services and shut down all its 2000 fuel stations in Lagos and its environs.

IPMAN also used the opportunity to urge the NNPC to open all the NNPC satellite depots in Ejigbo, Mosimi Ikorodu, Ibadan depot, Ore and Ilorin that make up System-2B pipeline to ease fuel suppliers to its members in these locations.