By SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN CITY— FUEL crisis is looming in Edo and Delta states, following threats by the stakeholders of the Warri Unit of the Independent Marketers Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers, NUPENG, to down tools over alleged moves by the Independent Petroleum  Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, to meddle in its leadership.

The group accused the Warri IPMAN Chairman, Chief Akpovwiri Edafevwutu, of sponsoring candidates into leadership positions in the union, which, according to them, would jettison the zoning arrangement of the union.

They alleged that their members, who are vying for various offices,  including that of the chairman, which had been zoned to Warri Unit, were being “intimidated and harassed,” to force them to step down.

Addressing newsmen in Benin, yesterday, Mr  Osasa Akpuji, who spoke on behalf of the Concerned Stakeholders,  lamented that some of their key members,  such as Mr Lugard Agege, financial secretary and Joseph Agboro,  Auditor, were beaten up on alleged orders of the IPMAN boss.

He narrated that at the delegate meeting of Independent Marketers, it was agreed that Warri unit should produce the next national Chairman due to the zoning formula the union adopted “only for the IPMAN chairman Warri depot, to retort to the use of thugs to intimidate other aspirants to step down for his preferred candidate.”

“We had earlier petitioned the relevant bodies sometimes in June, in which issues regarding the activities of the IPMAN chairman interfering in the internal matters of IMAN was reported to the Zonal Chairman, Warri Council. We came from Yola, where the issue of the IPMAN chairman Warri depot interference in IMAN units was discussed by delegates and we resolved that if the issues were not given urgent attention by national officer of the body concerned, the IMAN branch of NUPENG Warri unit will down tool,. He added.