IPMAN Crisis Deepens …As Kerosene Scarcity Hits Western Zone

Effort by the Western
Zonal Officers of the Independent Petroleum Marketing Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to re-unite the two warring factions at the national level of the body has again failed.
The Tide gathered that the comrade Aminu Abdulkadir led faction of the executive and Chief Obasi Lawson-led faction were at a peace meeting at Akure but the meeting which could not yield any good result was engulfed in any crisis which took the intervention of police to put the situation under control.
Trouble was said to have started when some members insisted that none of the factional executive members be recorgnised before the commencement of the meeting, as a pre condition for a peace deal.
The Tide gathered that while the rowdiness caused by the non-recognition of both factional executives in the meeting was brought under control, it was yet aggravated when the supply and distribution schedule of kerosene by the pipelines and products Marketing Company (PPMC), was leaked to members and blamed the disorganized situation of things in the affairs of IPMAN to the faction.
Meanwhile IPMAN, western zone has called on the federal government to probe the distribution of kerosene to the western zone.
The Western Zone alleged that kerosene meant for IPMAN members in the zone had been diverted to those they referred to as “big buyers’ with the connivance of some officers.
The situation, according to them, had brought untold hardship to over 5,000 members of IPMAN in the zone, which has five depots.
According to the aggrieved members, over 90 per cent of the supply did not get to genuine members of the association.
They further claimed that the alleged diversion was responsible for scarce and exorbitant rates at which the commodity was being sold.
However, the Elders Forum of IPMAN in the zone has been charged to wade into the crisis to ensure fairness was brought in the distribution of kerosene in the zone, amongst members.
It would be recalled that kerosene retailers recently called on the federal government to probe the distribution of the product at the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries.
The retailers who accused IPMAN members of creating artificial scarcity resulting in inflated prices maintained that until government probes the situation innocent masses would continue to suffer.

Chris Oluoh