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Tag: IPMAN

  • IPMAN, NARTO blame petroleum equalization fund for increase in pump price

    IPMAN, NARTO blame petroleum equalization fund for increase in pump price

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) and National Association of Road Transport Owners(NARTO) has attributed the current increase in petrol pump price being experienced at filling stations across the country, especially in the northern part of the country, to the pay cut from N5,018,000 to N3,088,000 by the Petroleum Equalization Agency.

    The North West Zonal Vice Chairman who is also the State Chairman of IPMAN Alh. Mohammadu Dan Tila Jega, made this known in Birnin Kebbi while fielding questions from newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.

    The IPMAN Chairman explained that the petroleum Equalization Fund, an agency responsible for handling payment of transporting fuel products across the country, decided to cut the payment without giving any logical explanation to IPMAN members which, according to him, has forced their members to also increase their fares in order to make up for the loss.

    He appealed to the concerned authorities to, as a matter of urgency, address the imbalance of payment so as to stabilise the fuel rate and save the common man from facing hardship and their members from what he described as unwarranted loss.

    Also in his reaction to the issue, the Secretary of National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Umar Mohammed Gulumbe, said that the disparity or imbalance of payment from the petroleum Equalization Agency had forced some transport owners to either suspend or abandon the business because of the huge gap in payment.

    ‘’The unfortunate situation has forced some of our members to have a second thought about the business of transporting fuel across the country because we are running at a loss if we continue to receive N3,088,000 instead of the agreed N5,018,000. So you can see the disparity between what we are supposed to collect as agreed between us and what they have resorted to paying us now,‘’ he said.

  • IPMAN wants FG to ban private depots

    IPMAN wants FG to ban private depots

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at the weekend urged the Federal Government to ban private depots in the country and concentrate on reviving ailing government-owned depots.

    The acting Chairman of the association in the country’s South-East zone, Mr Chukwudi Ezinwa, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.

    Ezinwa said the proliferation of private depots across the country would always be a major challenge for the revival and effective operation of government-owned depots in the zone.

    “Private depots do not care who you are, whether or not you are a marketer. They do not want to know, once you pay money into their account. It is wrong.

    “So government should ban private depots and focus on their depots. If the depot is working, our business will be flourishing. But if the depots are not working, we have a problem.

  • Marketers insist on N50 for kerosene

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged its members to sell kerosene at N50 per litre nationwide.

    IPMAN President Alhaji Abdulkadri Aminu told reporters at the inauguration of the initiative to sell kerosene at N50 per litre in Lagos that the association would keep its promise of selling kerosene at it price to ensure its availability in line with the goverment’s mandate.

    He said selling kerosene at N50 was one of the projects of IPMAN,the Products and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    He said: “The association has been at the vanguard of ensuring that the product that is meant for the local people should be sold at approved price. This has also been the focus of the Minister of Petroleum. Today, we are grateful to God that we have seen it happening. This particular exercise, I want to assure Nigerians, is going to be sustained.”

    Aminu said the N50 price would be strictly enforced, adding that any member of IPMAN found selling above the regulated price would be sanctioned.

    He said a monitoring team would be inaugurated to ensure conformity in IPMAN outlets nationwide. He urged consumers to diversify from kerosene to gas, adding that the association has ventured into gas utilisation.

    “Most Nigerians have switched from kerosene to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is the future of the world. I want to assure Nigerians that a lot has been done by the government to ensure that gas utilisation comes to stay. If you go to Benin we have Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station selling gas as fuel to motorists, in Lagos also NIPCO has 5,000 metric tonnes of LPG.

    “We are trying to create awareness on the essence of gas usage, its advantages, and price benefit. We intend to close the bridge between gas availability and utilisation which we help us a lot in aforestation exercise,” Aminu said.

  • IPMAN faults claims of kerosene scarcity

    IPMAN faults claims of kerosene scarcity

    kerosine is not in short supply, the In dependent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said.

    Its National Secretary, Mike Osatuyi, told reporters yesterday that those pedling the rumour were mischievous, and expressed the group’s displeasure over the undue concern the false alarm about kerosene scarcity has caused.

    He said the National Executive Committee of IPMAN is unhappy with publications calling for the removal of the leadership of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    He said IPMAN has investigated the matter, and confirmed that those spreading the news on kerosene scarcity are paid agents planning to disrupt the serenity marketers have been enjoying for some period in the downstream sector.

    “IPMAN controls over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s petroleum products retailing, which makes our association a dominant player in the Nigerian downstream market,” he said, adding that IPMAN is in a vantage position to talk authoritatively on the petroleum products supply and retailing chain in Nigeria.

    Nigeria has been enjoying consistent supply of petroleum products in the system for a long time arising largely from the activities of NNPC/PPMC, and contributions from other marketers, he stated.

  • Ensure distribution of products, IPMAN urges PPPRA

    Ensure distribution of products, IPMAN urges PPPRA

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), yesterday urged the managements of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to sustain the steady supply of products to Nigerians.

    The association assured that its members would ensure there is no hitch in the products distribution and retailing chain to consumers both in the hinter land in order to discourage artificial scarcity.

    The National Secretary of the association, Mike Osatuyi, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said, IPMAN is working with all its members to sustain the distribution and retailing chain.

    He noted that the intervention scheme of the PPMC products distribution through Coastal Private Depots Operation, has created room for adequate supply of petroleum products.

    He said, the National Executive Committee of IPMAN has commended the management of PPMC and PPPRA for ensuring steady products supply to the system, adding that the body will ensure that there is no hitch in the distribution and retailing chain.

  • IPMAN shuts petrol stations in Imo

    •Motorists groan as fuel sells for N700 per litre

    Many vehicles were grounded yesterday in Imo State, following the closure of petrol stations.

    The stations were closed by protesting members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), following the N1million levy imposed on petrol station operators by the government.

    Commuters were stranded as transport fares rose astronomically, forcing some government workers to trek to their offices.

    Motorists, who were caught unawares, resorted to buying from the black market at exorbitant rates.

    A litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) sold for as much as N700.

    A taxi driver, simply identified as Okey, said: “I don’t know how to explain this. Last night there was fuel everywhere so most of us did not bother to buy. We woke up to find the petrol stations locked.”

    An IPMAN official, who pleaded for anonymity, said the government, through the Owerri Council Development Authority (OCDA), imposed a non-negotiable levy of N1million for business registration and other conditions.

    He said: “The government threatened to seal off any petrol station that fails to pay the money.

    “This is aside other levies and tax we pay to government.”

    He maintained that the stations will remain locked, until the government rescinds the directive.

    “In as much as we are sensitive to the plight of our customers, we will not allow agents of government to impose illegal levies on us,”the official said.

    When our reporter visited some petrol stations, some of the attendants were seen in groups discussing with some motorists.

    The usual traffic gridlock on major streets in Owerri, the state capital, disappeared as most vehicles were forced off the road.

    Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Chinedu Offor said: “The government will no longer tolerate any person or business operating in the state without meeting the conditions for doing business.

    “Henceforth, the government will clampdown on businesses operating illegally in the state, including hotels, media outfits and other smaller enterprises.”

    But the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Uche Nwosu, whose ministry supervises the OCDA, has directed the parastatal to suspend the levy, until a better agreement is reached with the aggrieved operators.

     

     

  • IPMAN advises members on strategic investment

    The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged its members to embark on strategic investment to inprove the association, the downstream sector and empower themselves.

    Its ex-Chairman, Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, Mark Alaba Obu, who was a guest speaker at a one-day seminar organised for newly elected officers of IPMAN depots and zones, held in Ibadan, Oyo State, gave the advice while delivering his paper ,tagged ‘IPMAN: past, present and future.’

    Obu urged the executive members to look beyond the group’s present investment and take the association to the next level, by re-engineering the association and and strtegise on how to empower the members rather than seeking self interest.

    He said IPMAN could build and buy new depots. “It is better late than never. We can still embark on building, or buying, or taking over a depot that can be controlled by IPMAN, which will be purely owned by us.”

    He said the importation of petrol and kerosene should not be a challenge for members if the association has committed leaders at the zonal level. Such leaders can muster at least 200 members who will be able to commit a deposit of N1 million each to fast-track importation of kerosene and petrol for the benefit of members.

     

     

     

  • IPMAN executive jailed in Saudi for drug trafficking

    AUTHORITIES of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have sentenced a Nigerian and executive member of the Kwara State Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to six months in prison for cocaine trafficking.

    The embattled petroleum marketer (name withheld) went on lesser hajj last August with his wife en route Kano.

    He allegedly hid the suspected substance inside the yam flour neatly packaged in his travelling bag.

    But Saudi security officials allegedly fished out the substance from where it was stuck.

    When interrogated by security personnel, the IPMAN executive was said to have owned up while his wife was instantly set free.

    He was said to have been convicted immediately according to Saudi laws.

    It was gathered the development automatically prevented him from performing the lesser hajj.

    Friends and relations could not ascertain his whereabouts until the wife was said to have contacted them on the development.

    It was also gathered authorities of the Saudi Arabia government had communicated the decision to the leadership of IPMAN in Kwara state.

    Not a few members of the association have expressed dismay over the development, describing it as unfortunate.

    A member of the state executive of IPMAN, who craved anonymity, confirmed the development.

    He said zonal and national offices of IPMAN had taken steps to fill the vacant seat.

    A member of the executives said it is morally wrong for the association to allow an ex-convict to return to office.

    The source said, “the move for his replacement would serve as a lesson to the people, particularly the members.”

    It was gathered he had commenced serving the jail term, which ends in December, since August.

  • Marketers to support NNPC in fixing Arepo pipeline

    The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) would assist the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to fix the vandalised major pipeline, System 2B, at Arepo in Ogun State, to ease distribution of petroleum products across the country.

    The South-West Zonal Chairman, IPMAN, Mr Olumide Ogunmade said this in a joint communiqué issued by the group after their meeting in Lagos. He condemned the attack of officials of Products and Pipeline Management Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC, in the course of their official duty. The group noted that such sabotage on socio-economic infrastructure of the country should be stopped.

    Ogunmade said the association would support the NNPC in whatever action it takes to restore pumping of products into the System 2B pipeline in the shortest possible period.

    He said that the current products rationalisation within the southwest depots was as a result of the vandalised pipeline at Arepo, which has caused the entire nation a setback in the petroleum distribution sector.

    “We commiserate with the management of NNPC/PPMC on their staff that were attacked at Arepo in the course of repairing the vandalised pipeline. We promise to support the management of NNPC/PPMC in whatever action they will take in restoring the System 2B pipeline in the shortest possible period.

    “We also want to appeal to the Federal Government not to surrender to vandals by ensuring the quick repair of the System 2B pipeline. The effect of leaving the pipeline unrepaired is scarcity of products all across the country,” he said.

    The group also appealed to the government to put in place measures that would holistically address the issue of pipeline vandalism. “Strong mechanism should be put in place to checkmate activities of vandals not just on NNPC pipeline network but all oil and gas infrastructure. We also urge the National Assembly to put in place laws that will ensure that vandal are punished,” they added.

    Ogunmade said: “We also plead with host communities of NNPC right of ways such as Magboro, Magbon, Arepo, Ogere, Ijedodo, Isawo, Ogolonto in Ikorodu and others, to cooperate with the PPMC management in ensuring the pipelines are protected. Communities where the pipelines passed should be very security-conscious to drive the local economy.”

    He added that the level of pipeline vandalism in the country is getting worrisome and needs divine intervention.

    The NNPC said oil thieves opened fire on a team of engineers and technicians of the PPMC that came to repair the pipeline and killed three.