There is a looming threat of fuel scarcity in the South-East region and certain states in the South-South and Middle Belt due to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) expressing their intention to cease services. In a statement released on Sunday and signed by Prince Bobby Eberechi Dick, the zonal chairman, and Emmanuel Inimgba, the zonal secretary, the group highlighted the imminent withdrawal of their services.
The statement pointed out the dissatisfaction arising from the non-payment of their bridging claims, despite their counterparts in the Northern zone receiving the same payment. The group urged the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Downstream/Midstream Petroleum Regulatory to promptly settle their bridging claims, a payment already made to marketers in the North-West and North-East Zones since the subsidy removal regime on May 29, 2023.
The statement read, “In view of this as stated above, we are appealing to the Honourable Minister of state for petroleum for his immediate intervention to not only save our business but save our members from losing their properties used as collaterals from banks where these monies are tied down with defunct Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF).” The group declared that if the funds are not released by the end of November 2023, they would have no choice but to withdraw their services from the general public, citing the potential loss of their hard-earned properties tied up in banks as collateral.