The leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says that filling stations belonging to its members nationwide will not go on strike.
Mr Mike Osatuyi, the IPMAN’s National Operations Controller, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
Osatuyi said that the assurance became necessary to debunk the insinuations that lPMAN members were planning to shut down all their stations.
According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), is committed to selling its products directly to IPMAN members at the official rate of ex-depot price.
He said that the backlogs of IPMAN’s members with over 2,000 tickets were being cleared at present.
Osatuyi said: ” Nigerians should not engage in any panic buying as they are entering the Christmas period.
” Our wide networks nationwide make us the perfect outlets to ensure sustained distribution of petroleum products across the country,” he said.
NAN recalls that on Dec. 10, the Ogun chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) threatened to shut down all its outlets across the state over the ultimatum issued to marketers by the Department of State Security (DSS).
A correspondent of NAN who also monitored the fuel situation in the Lagos metropolis observed that queues were gradually easing off in some filling stations.
The correspondent also noticed that the major oil marketers were selling petrol at the regulated prices of between N169 and N170 per litre, while stations belonging to Independent marketers were still selling above the government-approved price per litre.
NAN also observed that the selling of petrol in jerrycans along the highways, popularly known as the “black market “, was gradually easing off.
NAN also reports that there had been an improvement in the loading of petroleum products from Apapa and the Dockyard Depots by fuel tankers belonging to marketers in various states of the federation.
Similarly, Mr Ahmed Farouk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), had assured Nigerians of a sufficient supply of the products during Yuletide.
