By Israel Ajenu
Depot Chairmen Forum of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has threatened to shut down its operations over the failure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to pay N100 billion debt to its members.
A statement by IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum, signed by the Chairman, Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, NMDPRA has kept to the agreement reached with the forum when the issue was raised last year.
The group, which expressed frustration, accused NMDPRA of deliberately ignoring its members.
“We are extremely frustrated that one year after our last demand as a forum, requesting the payment of over N100 billion owed our members in bridging and NTA claims by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the management of the NMDPRA have deliberately ignored our request, even after making clear promises to pay us.
“One of those promises was made by the NMDPRA, at the stakeholders meeting convened on the eve of the last strike action declared by NARTO. At that stakeholders meeting, the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) listed this same IPMAN bridging claims as part of their demands before the strike action would be called off.
“The NMDPRA promised to offset the bridging claims in 40 days even in the presence of the National Security Adviser, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu and the DG DSS, Mr. Adeola Ajayi. However, 40 days have today become months with no hope of our payment.
“Hence, the nine Northern depots comprising Jos depot, Gusau depot, Minna depot, Suleja depot, Kaduna depot, Kano depot, Gombe depot, Yola depot and Maiduguri depot have become completely grounded over this lingering debt”.
Alhassan stated: “For the avoidance of doubt, it is imperative to state again that this debt being owed us are monies belonging to marketers, and which were deducted from us at the point of payments for products, in order to settle our bridging allowances.
“We have also continued to record deaths of our members, closure of their businesses, retrenchment of staff, and the take-over of their business premises by the commercial banks, all arising from this refusal of the NMDPRA to pay us our monies.
