Scarcity: IPMAN advises Nigerians not to buy fuel in a panic

Scarcity: IPMAN advises Nigerians not to buy fuel in a panic

Insisting that the shortage of fuel would soon end, the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western zone, has asked Nigerians to refrain from buying gasoline in a frenzy.

On Tuesday in Ibadan, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, IPMAN Zonal Chairman for the Western Zone, provided the assurance in a conversation with newsmen.

Tajudeen asserted that there was no order preventing its members from carrying out their normal business activities and noted that the association had nothing to do with the rumors about filling stations being closed.

He was responding to rumors that were spreading that IPMAN had ordered its members to halt operations and close their filling stations in an effort to protest the increase in the price of petrol.

Tajudeen explained that IPMAN is divided into units and zones, and that its South-West zone included the depots in Lagos, Sapele, Ibadan, Ore, Ilorin, and Mosimi. He also noted that none of these depots had received a directive to cease operations.

In addition to emphasizing that members of IPMAN in other regions of Nigeria, particularly in the South-West region, are unaffected by the instruction, he claimed that it originated from Maiduguri Depot.

Tajudeen said: “As far as we are concerned, as the Zonal Chairman, I have the authority of other chairmen in the zone, we are not closing our stations.

“The letter you are seeing is from Maiduguri; look at the letter very well, it emanated from Maiduguri and has nothing to do with South-West.”

On the lingering fuel scarcity, Tajudeen said the situation would soon improve gradually.

“We just rose from a meeting with the authority concerned and we have a very useful discussion with the authority.

“One, we have to address the issue of availability and cycle. We appeal to people to bear with us, as the scarcity will fizzle out gradually.

“By the special grace of God by next week, we will start to see changes and the queues will disappear,” he assured Nigerians.

NAN recalled that IPMAN had pleaded with the Federal Government to give its members time to sell off the product they sourced with huge amounts of money before complying with selling fuel at the official rate of N195 per litre.

IPMAN said that its members had been directed to buy the product from NNPC and not from the private depot owners so that they can sell at the official rate.