Rivers residents woke up to baffling fuel queues on Monday morning
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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association
of Nigeria (IPMAN) has accused the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC) and owners of private tank farms of being behind the current scarcity
of petroleum products in Rivers State.
The association is therefore appealing to the
Federal Government and the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to call the
NSCDC and owners of private tank farms to order to avoid escalation of the
scarcity.
Media reports Chairman
of IPMAN in Rivers State, Prince Sunny Nkpe, spoke yesterday while addressing
newsmen at the association’s secretariat in Alesa-Eleme in Eleme local
government area of the state.
Nkpe
said, “We want to call the attention of the government and the DPR to the
activities of private tank owners who have arbitrarily jerked up the price of
products sold to us and to the harassment meted to us by unauthorized agencies
especially officials of the NSCDC. It is only the DPR is empowered to monitor
our activities and should charge any defaulting marketer to court rather than
harass us this way.”
He
called for immediate action from the government as the 2015 general elections
are fast approaching, pointing out that the independent marketers account for
over 80% of the quantity used nationwide.
Nkpe,
who stated that already the Imo and Abia State chapters of IPMAN had gone on
strike over the ugly development, said, “The DPR should tell us if they are now
in synergy with the NSCDC in performing their duties.”
Also speaking, chairman of
Elders’ Council of the association, Chief Richard Orianwo said the regulated
price for private tank owners is N77.66 and not N92.00 per litre as currently
being sold and called for government intervention so they can continue to sell
at the approved N87.00 pump price per litre.
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