IPMAN Seeks Bridging Claims Payment

The new National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Debo Ahmed, has appealed to  the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to ensure payment of outstanding bridging claims owed members of the association.
Ahmed, who made the appeal as part of his acceptance speech recently during  the inauguration of the new national leadership of the association in Abuja, also identified insecurity across the country as some of the bottlenecks encountered by his members in lifting petroleum products from depots.
“The nation is facing a magnitude of insecurity threat. As IPMAN, we need to address this issue and the effects on our business and the environment where we operate.
“Our members have billions of Naira as transport claims with the defunct Petroleum Equalisation Fund now with Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA) unattended. As a united association, we have to follow up to make sure our members are paid unconditionally.
“The new Customer Service Department in Petroleum Products Marketing (PPMC) is another bottleneck tying down members billions of Naira for product payment without supply.
“Rising cost of levies charged for outlets is escalating across the country from some federal and State Government agencies. IPMAN National is to dwell in all these extra cost to harmonise the justification if need be and so many other issues pending”, he said.
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector in their goodwill remarks made reference to the leadership tussle that has dogged the national Secretariat of the association in the last three years.
Those who spoke included the Presidents of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, (NLC).
In their seperated speeches, they pledged their support for  the Ahmed-led national executive of IPMAN, and urged the new leadership to crave for peace among its members.
Ahmed succeeded the immediate past President of IPMAN, Mr Habu Fari whose tenure expired last November.
By virtue of the 1999 Constitution of the association, a sitting Deputy National Chairman takes position at the end of the tenure of the outgoing Chairman.