Ignore fuel scarcity rumours – IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has dismissed reports of impending fuel scarcity, saying those behind the reports do not mean well for the nation.

National President of the association, Alhaji Sanusi Abdu Fari in a statement on Wednesday urged the public to disregard a report earlier in the week suggesting a imminent scarcity of petroleum products nationwide.

The statement read: “The attention of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of IPMAN has been drawn to a news item published in some newspapers and the social media on Monday 30th September 2019 that we are warning of an impending fuel scarcity which was issued by one Bashir Dan-Malam purporting to be IPMAN North-West zone chairman.

“Bashir Dan-Ali is not the IPMAN North-West zone chairman and as such, lacks the capacity to issue such statement. At this period Nigerians are enjoying an uninterrupted supply of fuel because of the efforts of the federal government and her agencies, we shall not allow our members to stop lifting fuel.

“Rather, we call on them to report any non-payment of their claims to us for further action. We have the necessary instruments to stop any defaulting private depot from getting further allocations from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

“We applaud the present Group Managing Director, Mele Kolo Kyari and his entire management for their current efforts in revamping the four nation’s refineries from January 2020 to cut fuel importation.

“IPMAN is already partnering with NNPC towards ensuring speedy storage and distribution of petroleum products across the 19 NNPC depots nationwide as witnessed last week when the Ilorin depot came back to life after so many years of dormancy.”

The association further called on the public not to embrace panic buying as there’s enough of the product to go round the country.