Cross River State chapter of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened a strike action over non-supply of kerosene to the Calabar depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for over 25 years.
It stated this yesterday in Calabar during a visit to the management of the Department of Petroleum Resources, (DPR), in Calabar.
Led by the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Comrade Robert Obi, the association explained that independent marketers needed the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) products to survive in the business.
Obi said, “Marketers in the Calabar depot have gone through hell in the name of sourcing for kerosene to sell. It is high time we supply the products to enable us to serve their customers in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states and be able to break even.
“Marketers are the ones that ensure that these products are taken to all parts of the states and therefore, they should be given priority in the allocation of these products.
“We are not asking for the millions of liters of kerosene for free. We will pay for the product. We are going to set up our IPMAN marine task force. We have mobilised our task force with speedboats made up of two horses power machines to monitor when the product arrives.
“And if all entreaties fail, we have no option than to embark on an indefinite strike to press home our demands and alert the Federal Government of what has been happening at the NNPC depot in Calabar.”
He continued, “We can no longer cope, especially marketers taking products from Calabar to markets in Ogoja and Obanliku axis, which is over 100 kilometres.”
“And when Federal Government adjusted the price to N145, IPMAN was not invited to be part in the meeting where the N9 margin was arrived at because of the leadership crisis in the association then.
“The development impacted negatively on our members who spend about N250,000 to transport their products to Northem part of the state without benefiting from the equalisation funds, thereby jerking up total cost of doing oil business.”
While assuring IPMAN of it full support, the Operation Controller of DPR in the state, Philip Awolu, said the association should documents its complaints and send to the DPR office.
— GUARDIAN
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