From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The National Leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has dissociated itself from a strike called by the Western Zone of the association to protest Dangote’s acquisition of trucks to transport its products to users.
Recall that the Western Zone, in a press statement signed by its Chairman and Acting Secretary, Basorun Joseph Akanni and Mr Adeleke Adeoye, had claimed that Dangote’s intention contravenes the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and urged its members to begin a strike on Monday (today).
But the National Ex-Officio, Douglas Iyike, in a statement on behalf of the National Executive Council (NEC) of IPMAN, urged its members to disregard the strike action, explaining that what Dangote was doing is a huge assistance to marketers, which would free them from multiple and excessive levies they are forced to pay by petroleum tanker drivers.
Contrary to the claim of the Western Zone, Iyike said the action of Dangote is supported by the PIA.
“I am refuting this story as the former chairman of IPMAN Benin Depot and presently the National Ex-Officio of IPMAN.
“That IPMAN National Executive Council (NEC), under the leadership of Alhaji Maigandi Shittima, is not aware of such action preconceived by the IPMAN Western Zone to make such pronouncement of IPMAN Western Zone going on strike by Monday.
“And as you would know, the PIA bill has given the room for any individual to own a refinery in the country and have their own trucks to distribute their products and even build petrol stations if they choose to, where their products can be dispensed to the general public, so Dangote has not done any harm but good to us marketers and to the general public.
“Howbeit, I want to state unequivocally that the IPMAN Western Zone has no impetus to call for any strike, has no constitutional powers to do so, as it is only the National Executive Council of IPMAN that has the reserved right to do so, and not the zone or any depot, and the Western Zone should also, by this statement, take into cognisance that they are not on their own; they are under the NEC of IPMAN according to the IPMAN constitution of 2009 as amended, and as such cannot take any decision of any kind of strike or demonstration regarding the interest of marketers without the approval of the National Executive Council of IPMAN.
“We advise esteemed marketers to go about their normal day-to-day business,” the statement added.
Besides, Iyike said the Dangote Refinery is a good development for the creation of jobs for the citizens of this country and also a good development for the marketers who could no longer afford to buy petroleum products for their various station outlets.
He further noted that the development would enable marketers to get products on a credit basis and pay the balance after sales, saying it will help marketers to bounce back to business.
“IPMAN nationwide is solidly behind Dangote Refinery, and we will not allow a few individuals to truncate this development in the downstream industry, and the level of enormous levies on marketers before getting their products to their station outlets will be a thing of the past,” the statement said.
