BySimon EBEGBULEM, Benin City
THE former National Vice-Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Elder Peter Agbokonkon, yesterday, lamented the failure by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to supply petroleum product to Benin depot in the past eight years.

He attributed the problem to the protracted crisis between the state chapter of IPMAN and the NNPC, and urged the two bodies to review their stands and close ranks now that the national body had dissolved the state chapter of IPMAN and consequently set up a caretaker committee which will usher in a new executive.

Elder Agbokonkon who spoke to newsmen in Benin , urged the Independent marketers in the state to work with the national leadership of IPMAN, led by Abdulkadir Aminu and its representative in the state, Chief Solomon Ogbewe to ensure that the depot was brought back to life.

He lamented that the situation has led to non_availability of products especially kerosene for domestic use and cases of adulteration of premium motor spirit (petrol) and regretted that “we have been cut off from all the oil developmental programmes accrued to us as a result of dichotomy, litigations from some of our selfish leaders in the state. IPMAN was set up 30 years and ever since then, we have lost many things.

“Before now, the Midwestern zone executive who have been working at variance with the national leadership don’t have access to NNPC management so when they are talking about products availability and distribution in each of the depots, there is nobody to represent them but with the harmonization of the body now and the new executive council inaugurated by the national leadership of IPMAN, they will be able to right all the wrongs.

“Before the stoppage of supply of products, marketers used to get as much as ten trucks every month on each product but now, marketers hardly have two trucks in a month.It now takes a month for one marketer to get a product but with this development, we believe there will be improvement in the volume of petroleum products to Benin depot, the people going to Warri to load will now have to concentrate here because the national leadership of IPMAN should prevail on the NNPC to repair damaged pipes, monitor them and pump fuel to Benin” he stated.