The Nigerian Union of Pe
troleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has given a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to intervene in the lingering leadership tussle in the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) or it would mobilise its members for a nation-wide strike.
President of the union, Igwe Achese, gave the ultimatum  at a press conference in Lagos last Friday.
He said the union was disturbed at what he described as judicial process in handling of the IPMAN leadership case as a judgment of a Port Harcourt High Court on the same case was upturned by a Lagos High Court presided by Justice Valentine Ashi.
NUPENG said it condemned the judgment and still stood by the judgement of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which declared Chief Obasi Lawson, as the IMPAN President until a superior court of law says otherwise.
The union’s leader particularly expressed dismay over use of the judiciary to buy judgment saying it does not augur well for the democratic process.
“It does not in any way protect the constitution of our great country in the eyes of the world,” he said.
Explaining that over 60 per cent of IPMAN members are in NUPENG, Achese said his union was also directly involved in the IPMAN leadership crisis hence NUPENG members could not fold their hands and allow members in IPMAN to suffer.
He said a collective bargaining agreement signed with IPAMN and independent marketers’ branch was yet to be implemented for about 1o years as a result of the crisis.
Achese lamented that past leaderships of IPMAN had frustrated the union’s efforts towards unionising workers in IPMAN depots.
He regretted that the union had written several letters to the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), State Security Services for their intervention but such efforts could not yield any positive result due to what he termed the non-challant attitude of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, on the crisis.
He said there had been intervention and reconciliation by the SSS but that the outcome was not adhered to by the Aminu Abdukadir’s faction.
“They deliberately refused to obey the court judgement of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt that declared Chief Obasi as the IPMAN President,” he regretted.