IPMAN Wants NNPC To Check Fuel Scarcity

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Aba branch, has advised NNPC to find solution to the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.

An aide to the Chairman of IPMAN, Eastern Zone, Mr Simple Nwamkpa, gave the advice in Aba on Thursday.

He expressed regrets that the depot serving Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Akwa Ibom, which was re-opened in July after seven years of closure, had not received PMS in the past one month.

Nwamkpa, who is also the Chairman of the Reactivation Committee of the Aba Depot, said the effect of the scarcity was already telling on the consumers and marketers in the zone.

“The situation is that things are bad for the product distribution now, there is no product, since they pumped fuel to us they have not pumped again, they have caught us off for almost one month now. “We don’t know the cause; they are denying the depot the product. We don’t know what the problem is, we don’t know the cause of non-availability of the product,’’ he said.

He said the depot got 30 million litres of PMS when it was re-opened in July, saying this could last for only one month if loading was at its peak.

Nwamkpa said members of the National Assembly were given a situation report when they visited the site in October.

“They promised to talk to PPMC to pump PMS and other products to the depot. Since seven years the depot was shut down and till now we have not gotten NPK here. “As we are today, we can assure you that the pipelines are safe. The military are working 24 hours, we are assisting them; we have bought motorcycles and we have done everything to assist them, he added.

He said the association had prevailed on its members who had planned to down tool over the renewed denial of Aba depot of the petroleum products.