IPMAN attributes cause of fuel scarcity in Ilorin to leadership crisis in PTD
By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin
The Kwara State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Association of Nigerian (IPMAN) has attributed the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Ilorin, and environs to the leadership crisis rocking Petroleum Tankers Driver (PTD) in Saki, Oyo State.
No fewer than 10 fully loaded tankers belonging to NNPC, BOVAS and RANOL meant for public consumption in Ilorin and its environs, were impounded at NNPC depot Oke Oyi in the outskirts of Ilorin on Friday morning because of the crisis
State Chairman of IPMAN, Alhaji Abdulateef Kamaja, while addressing journalists in Ilorin on Friday said that the union crisis that led to burning of houses and petrol tankers in Saki was said to have prompted the state leadership of PTD to stop petrol tankers from coming to Saki, in order not to escalate the crisis.
Kamaja also said that petrol tankers were being driven to Saki, through other means, a development that prompted PTD to further stop the products from being taken to other towns.
He said petrol tankers that were branded Ilorin were wrongfully accused by PTD of taking petrol to Saki, when they were indeed going to Baruten and Kaima since it’s the same route.
He added that it was this development that caused the PTD to extend their sanction that no petrol tankers should come to Ilorin.
IPMAN, however, said to their surprise they saw major marketers such as NNPC, BOVAS and RANOL being allowed and that they had to stop them “because they cannot handcuff us and allow others to be in business.”
“Besides this development is barbaric. Why should a crisis in Saki deny the innocent people of Ilorin access to pproducts? We have to address this press conference to let the public know what is truly causing the present fuel scarcity.
“I’m hereby calling on the stakeholders, particularly our government to intervene so that the people of Kwara State would not continue to suffer for a matter they know nothing about,” he said.
He also said that Federal Government has stopped supplying them PMS, the development which affected the buying and the selling price negatively.
He explained that the current buying price is between N186 and N190 from Lagos, saying it is higher than the selling price of N180 per litre at pump price.
Kamaja also said that the Federal Government has stopped sending the petroleum products to Ilorin NNPC depot since last year November because of the fuel bunkering that was discovered along the route.
