By KUNLE KALEJAIYE

In an effort to improve the fortunes of the downstream sector of Nigeria oil and gas industry, the Western Zone arm of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has  advised its members to re-strategise their business investment’s plan.

Engineer Mark Obu, the past Chairman of IPMAN Satellite Depot, Ejigbo gave the advised at the one-day seminar for all elected officers of IPMAN depots and zones, which was tagged “IPMAN past, present and future’’ in Ibadan.

Obu urged executive members to look beyond its present investment and take the association to the next level by re-engineering the association and think of how to empower the members rather than seeking only self interest and personal gain.

According to him, “It is better late than never, but we can still embark on building or buying or taking over a depot that can be controlled by IPMAN which will be purely owned by us.

The past chairman said that importation of petrol and kerosene should not be a challenge for all members if the association has committed leaders at the zonal level that can muster at least 200 members who will be committed to pay a deposit of N1 million each to fast track importation of kerosene and petrol for the benefit of the members.

Obu said that on arrival of petroleum products, the 200 members should be made to pay the balance while they are given priority in loading, adding that if non-marketers have benefitted so much in product importation why not IPMAN as a body.

He advised executive to look into buying existing depots that solely depend on NNPC product allocation which is currently not coming again as it was in the past, stating that IPMAN can negotiate with any of them, and agree to buy 60 or 100 per cent stake, while executive should work out the funding involving their members.

“IPMAN can still strengthen the co-operative societies in the depots  and ploy back some of the money made in the product allocation in the depot into co-operative society to make funds available to members to buy products at reasonable interest rate.

“We should also be able to buy off members’ stations who have issues with banks, while we turn around the stations, manage it in form of leasing and meeting the demand of such members after settling the banks and making reasonable profit for IPMAN,’’ he advised.

Speaking on a fully deregulated petroleum supply, Obu said that the country has been playing politics on the matter , adding that the highest allocation of products from NNPC depots are 2x 33,000 litres in satellite, 1×33,000 litres in Mosimi, 1×15,000 in Ibadan and most other depots are nil.

“Today, ex depot price for PMS (petrol) is N87.66 per litre while at the private depots it is going as high as N 94 per litre, how then can IPMAN members survive.

Also speaking, Barrister Dele Akinmusuti tasked members on discipline in all their business endeavours, adding that discipline is the bedrock of progress without which no association can be useful to its members.

According to him, “All stakeholders in the downstream sector of the oil industry, NUPENG, DAPMAN and MOMAN, IPMAN appears to be the least equipped and most undisciplined among its rank and file in the sector.”