The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria

  • IPMAN fails to sell petrol at N140

    Members of Independent  Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has refused to comply with its leadership to sell petrol to customers at N140 per litre. The product currently sells for between N143 and N145 per litre.

    Its leadership had directed the oil marketers to sell the product at N40 per litre in the run up to the general elections.

    However, the Caretaker Chairman of IPMAN Western Zone, HRH Obafemi Ogbaro, has appealed to members to comply with the directive.

    He made the appeal after the chapter’s executives meeting in Lagos.

    Ogbaro said: “My attention has been drawn to a purported press statement credited to a marketer in Mosinmi depot who was a former vice chairman of IPMAN western zone denouncing the directive of our IPMAN National President, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, to our patriotic members to sell petrol to the general public at N140 per litre.”

    He said the association took the decision to ameliorate the suffering of the masses because of the rescheduled elections, adding that IPMAN members as a responsible association felt the pains Nigerians suffered for travelling to their various destinations to perform their civic duties of voting the candidates of their choice in the Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections which was rescheduled to  February 23, 2019 and  March 9, 2019 respectively.

    He said the group  shared in the pains of Nigerians hence  the sacrifice in this trying period to agree to a N5 per litre reduction. “This will eat into our members’ profit but we have to give back to the society as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility. The reduction in price commenced from Wednesday, February 20, 2019 to  March 11, 2019.

    The national president of IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo on February 17 directed its members nationwide to reduce petrol pump price from N145 per litre to N140.

    He had said: “The reduction will last till March 12 to help reduce transport fares for Nigerians as they travel to vote for their candidates for the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections. After that date, we will review the price.”

  • IPMAN backs Buhari for 2019 elections

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) on Friday threw their weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari in his re-election bid.

    The body adopted Buhari as its candidate during a courtesy visit of its National Executive Committee to the State House, Abuja.

    Speaking on behalf of the group, the National President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, thanked the President for his support to the industry.

    Noting that the country was faced with frequent problem of petroleum products supply before Buhari’s administration, he said that there is free flow of petroleum products under Buhari.

    He also said that the industry was enmeshed in deep corruption before Buhari’s administration, which is now a thing of the past.

    He said “We are solidly behind your reelection bid. In our meetings, we have adopted you as our candidate.”

    “Your success in the election will be a success for Nigeria,” he added.

    He also assured that there will be no fuel scarcity in the country throughout the period of the general elections.

    Stressing that the association is ready to continue to work with the Buhari administration to surmount remaining problems in the industry, he disclosed that the association is planning to set up refineries in the country.

    President Buhari thanked the group for adopting him as their candidate for the election.

  • Supreme Court fines former IPMAN boss N2m

    The Supreme Court has fined the immediate past National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Chief Obasi Lawson the sum of N2million in favour of the factional president of IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo and members of his executive.

    Elder Okoronkwo and 10 others were respondents/applicants in the suit no. SC/15/2018 which affirmed the judgment delivered by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in suit no. FHC/PH/CS/12/2014, on the 20th of March, 2014.

    The judgment delivered by five Justices of the Supreme Court including: Musa Datiijo Muhammad, Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, Kudirat Montomori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, Chima Centus Nweze, Ejembi Eko in unison said Lawson’s appeal amounted to academic exercise and struck it out.

    A certified true copy of the 59-page judgment signed by the Registrar, Bilkisu Musa exclusively obtained by our correspondent, the other Justices of the Supreme Court led by Justice Datiijo at separate rulings, said based on the judgment of the Federal High Court, Chief Obasi Lawson became the National President of IPMAN on 20th March, 2014 and by the 1997 Constitution of IPMAN, his tenure expired in March, 2017. Thus the Terms of Settlement filed at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt which seeks to enthrone the 2009 Constitution with tenure of five years should be set aside.

    Specifically, the justices held that the preliminary objection should be sustained just as they struck out the appeal for being now academic and incompetent.

    Citing the Supreme Court rules that: “A respondent intending to rely upon a preliminary objection to the hearing of the appeal shall give the Appellant three clear days’ notice thereof before the hearing, setting out the grounds of objection, and file such notice together with ten copies thereof with the Registrar within the same time,” the justice said none of this was adhere to and hence struck out the appeal.

    The five Justices after perusal of the different originating summons said Lawson misled the court and subsequently fined him N2million.

  • DPR warns against price hike during festive period in Cross River

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Cross River State has warned marketers against  hiking the pump price of petroleum products during the festive season.

    DPR Operations Controller in the state, Mr Bassey Nkanga, who spoke during the fourth quarter meeting with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Calabar, disclosed that the Federal Government has ensured that the depots have adequate product for consumers during and beyond the approaching yuletide period.

    He said this was to prevent scarcity of the product and panic buying by Nigerians during the period.

    “As we all know, we are approaching the festive period and DPR in the state have noticed some sharp practices by some marketers.

    “We have intensified surveillance activities across the state with a view to make sure that marketers operate according to the stipulated guidelines.

    “Government has done so much within this period to ensure the free flow of petroleum product and the depots have been adequately stocked to avoid scarcity and panic buying.

    “I wish to appeal to marketers across the state not to take advantage of the festive period to cheat Nigerians in anyway.

    “Anyone caught going against the rules of operation and the government stipulated guidelines will face the consequences,” he said.

    He urged marketers who have not renewed their operating licenses to do so, adding that anyone caught operating without a valid license will be sanctioned.

    The Operations Controller warned marketers in Northern District of the state to desist from selling a litre of petrol above N145, saying that any further act may lead to a revoke of operating license.

    He also warned marketers against under-dispensing, selling adulterated products and violating the DPR seal whenever they were sealed for violating the operational guidelines.

    Read Also: DPR shuts two illegal gas stations in Akwa Ibom

    IPMAN Chairman in the state, Mr Lawrence Agim, commended the Federal Government for the adequate supply of petroleum product to depots.

    Agim said that IPMAN in the state was fully ready to work with DPR in fighting all forms of illegality in the petroleum sector.

    “We are ready to partner with DPR in ensuring that we dispense the product available to us at the approved government price,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the DPR has warned illegal gas centres operators’ in the stage to desist from the act or face stiffer sanctions.

    Nkanga, who gave the warning during the fourth quarter meeting with Liquefied Petroleum Gas Plant Operators/Retailers in the state, said they would clamp down on any gas operator or retailer operating illegally without a valid license issued by the DPR.

    According to him, several cases of gas explosion had been recorded in the state, adding the DPR was intensifying surveillance activities with a view to curb further explosions.

    He said that the government has demonstrated efforts in making sure that gas is extended and sold to residents in the rural areas due to its affordability.

    The Operations Controller charged the retailers to report anyone operating a gas centre illegally to the DPR.

  • IPMAN urges FG to boost capacity of refineries, abolish importation

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged the Federal Government to improve efforts in ensuring enhanced capacity of the refineries in the country and depots to end fuel importation.

    Alhaji Debo Ahmed, Chairman Western Zone, IPMAN, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos against the backdrop of some moribund depots.

    Ahmed said that if the country’s refineries and the 22 NNPC depots were working effectively, this would save the huge amount spent on importation and subsidising the price of fuel by NNPC.

    He also urged the government to embark on massive repairs of depots and product pipelines in the country to save the country huge investment on product importation.

    According to him, when all refineries are in full production, it would go a long way in addressing fuel scarcity and check petroleum product importation.

    “This is the appropriate time to save the economy by stopping subsidy and channel the money to other sectors.

    “Pumping of products to Ejigbo Satelite depot has been challenging in the last three months while the Ibadan depot loading capacity has dropped to 10 per cent,” he said.

    He also said that the Ibadan depot had been operating on skeletal loading for almost three months.

    Ahmed also urged government to provide adequate security to checkmate pipeline vandals across its pipelines network to ensure adequate product availability.

    He said that incessant pipeline vandalism had turned the country into importer rather than an exporter of refined oil and trucking the imported fuel from the coastal areas to hinterland.

    Ahmed also called on government to ensure reduction of petroleum products trucking to short distances by making sure that the 22 depots function properly.

  • IPMAN sets up committee to check pipeline vandalization, adulteration

    National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, has said that the association will constitute a committee to check pipeline vadalization and adulteration of petroleum products among members.

    Speaking while inaugurating the caretaker committee of IPMAN, Calabar depot, led by Elder Edet Umana, Okoronwko said the country was riddled with the activities of such vandals and there was urgent need to check the problem.

    “The business of oil and gas, which is about 80 per cent of downstream sector, is controlled by our members and any infraction in that chain always affects us adversely.

    “As a responsible organisation, we must work with government at all levels to ensure that petroleum products are genuine and the pipelines for which the products are conveyed are also in order, because every disruption would affect the economy.

    “We are employers of labour. Over 20 million workers are working for us if you check the chain-pump attendants, depot managers, tanker drivers and so on. So we must, as a responsible organisation, protect this business.

    “The committee would be at all depots. We would have it at national level, zonal level and chapter level.

  • Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) has warned petrol marketers within its Enugu Zone to comply with N145 pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or have their products dispensed to customers free.

    Mr Unyime Akpan of Health, Safety and Environment Department, DPR Enugu Office, gave the warning in Awka when he led an enforcement team to Anambra on Tuesday.

    Akpan said the team sealed one filing station for allegedly refusing to revert and enforced the pump price sale of petrol in nine other stations on Atani road in Ogbaru and some parts of Idemili North Local Government Areas.

    He expressed regret that some marketers had remained defiant, in spite of DPR’s efforts to ensure compliance, noting that the DPR might apply more stringent punishment by dispensing products of defaulting marketers to customers for free.

    READ ALSO: More pains as fuel scarcity returns

    “Petrol price is controlled; stations are not supposed to sell above N145 per liter and if the cost of getting products suggests they cannot sell at that price, then they should leave out.

    “Marketers are the people encouraging the hike; if they are not gaining from it, then they leave out until the system returns to normal.

    “We may have to begin to dispense their products free because DPR also has the powers; if this price compliance sales proves ineffective, we may be left with no option than to give out their petrol, so that they can understand how serious we are,” he said.

    In a reaction, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) absolved its members of any complicity in the hike of petrol price and blamed it on scarcity.

    Chief Ikechukwu Nwankwo, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot, in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, urged DPR to stop the clampdown the members as sealing outlets and auctioning the products would not solve the problem.

    Nwankwo decried the petrol supply situation in the country and called for a more sustainable measure to normalise it.

    He said DPR’s action on IPMAN members, especially those under his zone, amounted to being punished for a problem they did not cause and could not solve.

    Nwankwo said that solution to the problem was massive and sufficient supply of petrol into the system by the NNPC.

    The IPMAN chairman said marketers were making efforts to make petrol available to customers as complete scarcity would amount to shutting the economy and holding the masses hostage.

    “I have spoken with my members here in Anambra, the situation of fuel supply is bad and it is our wish that we begin to get products like the way it used to be before.

    “IPMAN is not happy with the way the DPR is harassing us, closing our stations and auctioning our products. It is like they want to push us out of business because we cannot continue to suffer this loss.

    “NNPC is not allocating products to us, DPR should go and monitor the marketers that get allocation from NNPC; how can we buy product at N190 or N195 and DPR sells them off at N145.

    “We make extra effort to get product at tank depot so that economic activities can go on and we should not be punished for that; we may have to close our stations if they continue to pursue us,” he said.

    Newsmen reportes that pump price of petrol has dropped from between N240 and N250 to N200 per liter.

    NAN

  • IPMAN urges FG to end scarcity, restore operations at Enugu depot

    IPMAN urges FG to end scarcity, restore operations at Enugu depot

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) has decried the high cost of procurement of petroleum products by its members in the South-East.

    Chief Ikechukwu Nwankwo, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Chapter, lamented the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Awka.

    NAN reports that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol in Anambra and neighboring states had hovered between N230 and N250 per litre since mid-December 2017.

    Nwankwo said the hike in the pump price of petrol which had persisted in the South-East was because of the scarcity of the product.

    He said the inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) to supply the product sufficiently to marketers had contributed to the high cost.

    The chairman also described the situation in South-East, especially those under the Enugu depot as peculiar, noting that the breakdown of the depot was the major cause of the scarcity in the zone.

    He said customers in the area were more vulnerable because marketers from the zone were not protected by the NNPC in other depots in terms of access to the petroleum products.

    “The problem of price hike in the South-East where we operate is because of scarcity.

    “The product is not available, if it was available, there will be competition and naturally nobody will sell above the normal price.

    “Enugu depot has been down for over a decade and all the states in the zone now rely on depots that are supposed to be serving others.

    “Marketers are supposed to be getting PMS at N133.28 kobo at the NNPC depot so that we can sell at government approved price of N145, but all the products were bought from private tank farms at between N195 and N200.

    “If the pipeline to Enugu depot is working and the depot is functional, you are sure of 20 trucks each to Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states which are the major affiliate states at NNPC rate.

    “Now that the Enugu depot is not working, the NNPC should protect customers in the zone by ensuring that marketers from here get at least half of what it should get from other depots.

    Nwankwo absolved members of the allegations of hoarding and diversion, saying it was unwise for a businessman to do so.

    He condemned the clampdown of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on its members when it was obvious that they were not getting products at government approved prices.

    Read also: Loading at Ibadan depot inadequate, says IPMAN

    He said the DPR should work with the NNPC to find out those that procured products at government price for effective monitoring.

    “It is not true that marketers are hoarding but anybody with proof should show it.

    “Why should we hoard it and for whom and how can a businessman invest over N8 million on a product and refuse to sell and make profit?

    “At the moment, we are not happy with what the DPR is doing because it is unjust to dispense our petrol which they did not sell to us at the normal price.

    “The DPR should go and get the manifest of marketers that they sold product to at normal price and monitor those people because if they continue with what they are doing, we are going to shut down.

    “Let the NNPC declare the marketers that they sold product to at government approved price to, this is only how you can get product at government approved price,’’ he said.

    IPMAN urged the Federal Government to do that would be possible to eliminate the current scarcity and restore statutory price, including expediting works at the Enugu Depot, Emene to put it back in operation in the interest of the public.

    NAN

  • Loading at Ibadan depot inadequate, says IPMAN

    Loading at Ibadan depot inadequate, says IPMAN

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said petrol allocation by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to Ibadan Depot is grossly inadequate.

    Alhaji Raimi Tayo, who chairs IPMAN’s Ibadan Depot, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that independent marketers hardly loaded 12 trucks daily.

    Tayo said the situation was causing scarcity in the hinterlands.

    According to him, the depot, which usually loads six million litres daily, has reduced its load to 400,000 litres per day.

    He said the development affected business activities of independent marketers.

    Tayo accused the Federal Government of giving more attention, in product allocation, to private depots.

    He said: “Petroleum products allocation to Ibadan Depot was grossly inadequate.

    “We have appealed to the government, through the NNPC, to pump enough products to the depot so that marketers can be in business.

    “As at this morning (yesterday), private depots were selling at N158 per litre as against the government-regulated ex-depot price of N133.28 kobo.”

    Tayo urged the government to clamp down on depot owners who sold above ex-depot price to marketers.

    According to him, although the public accuse marketers of selling above the official pump price, there is no way marketers will sell petrol at N145 per litre at filling stations when the product is sold between N158 and N162 per litre at private depots.

    The IPMAN chairman appealed to the NNPC to make petrol available to marketers at depots to ease distribution to hinterlands.

    He condemned directives asking marketers to source the product at private depots.

    Tayo said: “This is wrong and unprofitable.”

    The IPMAN chairman noted that pipeline vandalism and inadequate pumping of petroleum products from System 2B – at Mosinmi – to Ibadan is also a challenge.

    NAN reports that the daily petrol pricing survey from Apapa Depot showed that the depots sold the product above ex-depot price of N133.28.

    At NIPCO, it was N160 per litre; Chipet, N162; Rahamaniyyah, N152.50; Obat, N152; Aiteo, N160 and A. A. Rano, N160.

    A depot owner, who spoke in confidence, told NAN that no depot owner imported petrol, adding that petrol loading still belonged to NNPC since it ‘s the sole importer.

    But NNPC’s Group General Manager (Public Affairs) Ndu Ughammadu said: “We sell to them at the official price. We have not increased ex-depot price. The appropriate agencies are monitoring.”

     

  • Fuel scarcity: One storage facility functional at Ejigbo Depot, says IPMAN

    Fuel scarcity: One storage facility functional at Ejigbo Depot, says IPMAN

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) has decried the situation whereby only one storage tank out of nine installed at the Ejigbo Depot was working.

    It appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) to rehabilitate all the moribund storage facilities within the depots which made up the western zone to enhance effective distribution of petroleum products.

    Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, the Chairman, Ejigbo Satellites Depot of IPMAN, said on Monday that this would address the fuel distribution challenges in the zone.

    He said only one out of nine storage tanks in Ejigbo Depot, was currently working; adding that this was not sufficient for petroleum distribution.

    He said this had also contributed to the scarcity of petrol and the long queues of trucks awaiting loading at the depot.

    According to him, marketers hardly load 50 trucks from the depot due to the dilapidated state of the storage tanks there.

    Read also: IPMAN urges Fed Govt to invest more in modular refineries to end fuel scarcity

    “ We were loading between 15 trucks and 17 trucks daily before it was repaired.

    “That was not enough for marketers to distribute to their customers.

    “ We appeal to the Federal Government through the NNPC to revive all the damaged tanks so as to increase the fuel storage capacity to 200 trucks daily.

    “ Government should ensure effective repairs of all the dilapidated storage facilities within the western zone to beef-up storage and loading capacity to at least 1million trucks on daily basis.

    “This will address frequent fuel challenges in the country,’’ he said.

    The IPMAN boss said if depots had enough stocks, marketers would work 24-hours to ensure that the product gets to every nook and cranny of the states.

    Alanamu appealed to the government to revive the depots so that they could operate to work 24-hours daily and facilitate effective service delivery to reduce queues within the depots.

    He also appealed to government to allow marketers to import petrol and sell at the current prevailing market price.
    According to him, no marketers can import at N171 landing cost per litre and sell at N145 at their stations.

    NAN