The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has warned the Federal government that the association will shut down stations in Oyo and Osun states starting the following week.
In a meeting with association members, Mr Bukola Mutiu, chairman of IPMAN in Oyo State, made the warning stating that the refusal of the FG to allow the association to pay directly through the official gateway of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC is a major reason for the planned protest.
Mutiu said: “At the meeting we had yesterday, we discussed some pump stations. For over six months now, we are being denied payment into the appropriate portal of NNPC, and that led us to go to private depots to buy petrol at outrageous prices.
“As of December 8, 2022, the prevailing prices at all the private depots in Lagos range from N215 per litre to N233 per litre with hard trucks and other expenses.
“At our meeting, we agreed to the following terms.
Although the FG have forced us to shut down our stations immediately, we still want to reiterate that if the government does not act promptly by allowing us to pay into the NNPC purse so marketers can receive the official rate of N148 per liter, then beginning the following week, we will shut down all of our stations in the states of Oyo and Osun.
“We have also written to the zonal council of IPMAN, Western zone, and we wish that they will reply us by calling for a meeting by next Tuesday or thereabout to conclude with the entire southwest marketers about what will be the solution having noted other challenges we are facing as a marketers.”