Fuel scarcity: IPMAN suspends nationwide strike

…FG vows to find permanent solutions to fuel scarcity

By Seun Ibiyemi

The leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday directed all its members to continue with their operations across the country barely hours it declared that members should  shut down.

This was made known in a statement made available to Nigerian NewsDirect signed by the IPMAN Chairman, Mohammed Kuluwa, who said that marketers should continue selling products.

The association in the statement said, “Having met with the concerned authorities, all filling stations should open with immediate effect and continue selling.

“While the association continues with further consultation and will  accordingly keep you informed.”

Recall that the association, had  on Monday sent out a notice to its members, directing them to suspend sale of petrol and to shut all their filling stations.

In a statement dated February 6, 2023, Chairman of IPMAN, in Maiduguri, Borno State, the marketers were also ordered to suspend payment of ordering products from source until further notice.

The association said the decision followed “the critical situation as it affects our sourcing and selling of product at lose and the action of the authority to impose the selling of product at a lose price on our side.”

FG vows to find permanent solutions to fuel scarcity

The Federal Government has warned of dire consequences for any individual or groups who attempt to exploit or further cause untold hardship to ordinary Nigerians by disrupting fuel supply and distribution chain.

This is coming on the heels of renewed efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) to maintain the 450.92 million litres weekly evacuation of Premium Motor Spirit to different petrol stations nationwide.

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, gave the warning on Tuesday in a statement by his Senior Adviser, Media and Communications, Horatius Egua.

Sylva, while reassuring Nigerians of government‘s determination called on security agencies to be on high alert in preventing attempts by subversive elements to cause any disruption during the period of the general elections in the country.

He appealed to Nigerians for understanding, noting that  President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was sincere with finding permanent solutions to the fuel problems in the country.

He said the government was exploring all options in seeking an end to the fuel problem in the country.

Sylva urged stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to join hands with government in ending the problem.

During a tour of selected petrol stations, in Abuja, on Friday Sylva had expressed government’s satisfaction at the efforts of the NNPCL in ensuring fuel availability to the average Nigerian and urged them to keep up the tempo.

In the last one month, NNPCL has maintained a total weekly evacuation of 450.92 million litres of PMS, a daily average of 64.42 million litres.

Sylva, while calling for a collective support in dealing with the fuel issue said the government felt the pains of the ordinary Nigerian occasioned by the lingering fuel queues.

He said that the relevant government agencies were working round the clock to ensure fuel availability at petrol stations across the country.

“The problems associated with fuel queues in the country is not a problem that came with Buhari’s government but a fallout of long years of rot and decadence in products supply and distribution chain by successive governments.

“Buhari’s administration is addressing the problem holistically, this is the first time in so many years that a government is addressing the problems associated with fuel supply and distribution collectively,” he said.

And as part of the move to find lasting solution to the problem, the minister said the Federal Government recently set up a 14-Man committee to get to the bottom of the problem with a view to avoiding future occurrences.

He said the Federal Government had also embarked on refineries rehabilitations neglected over the years with Port Harcourt Refinery at about 65 per cent completion, Kaduna just awarded to Daewo of South Korea and Warri expected to follow soon.

He said the government through the NNPCL acquired a 20 per cent equity stake in the Dangote Refinery had embarked on the licensing of modular refineries.

According to him, it concluded the marginal fields bid and improvement of security along crude pipelines in the Niger Delta region in the last few months, all geared toward increasing crude oil production to meet domestic consumption.