From Dennis Mernyi, Abuja
In line with the Federal Government intensifies efforts to ensure efficient petroleum products distribution across the country, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have opted to form a tripartite committee for a seamless distribution of petroleum products.
The National Chairman of PTD, Mr. Salimon Oladiti, who disclosed this in Abuja when he visited the national headquarters of IPMAN on Tuesday, stated that such committee would present a common front that will advance the interest of the groups and ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products across the country.
“We are here to reconfirm that the PTD and NUPENG stand by IPMAN. I can assure that PTD will work with IPMAN anytime and any day. We are trying to form a tripartite committee to present a common front that would easily drive government policies and ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products across the country. We expect IPMAN to be in that committee because divided we fall, united we stand,” he said.
He expressed optimism that with the resolution of the crisis in IPMAN, the organisation would henceforth get its fair share in the country of oil and gas industry players.
In his response, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of IPMAN, Aminu Abdulkadir, assured of IPMAN’s readiness to work with relevant organisations to support Federal Government’s efforts to ensure that petroleum products are readily available in every nook and cranny of the country. He noted that members of the independent marketers control about 80 per cent of the fuel distribution network.
The National President of the association, Mr. Lawson Obasi, said the association has been re-positioned to increase fuel supply across the country. He said the association would work with relevant players in the sector to tackle fuel scarcity in the country.
Obasi stated that the association had planned to commence importation of petroleum products to boost the activities of the downstream sector, adding that owing to the liberalisation of the sale of products, the association plans to import its own products for onward distribution to its members. He said, “we are on course with plans to import products into the country so that we can distribute to our members.”
Obasi also noted that IPMAN has already signed agreements with some of its foreign partners for product importation, while it intends to establish a modular refinery in Nigeria to ensure that there is adequate supply of petroleum products customers.
He said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiary, the Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) have given members of IPMAN easy access to petroleum products.
He said, “we don’t have any difficulty accessing petroleum products at the moment because NNPC, PPMC and the Federal Government are doing their best. So loading it is not a problem. Once products are at the depots, getting them is not a problem.”