The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria IPMAN Suleja Depot Branch has began a three-day warning strike.
Members of the union commenced the strike yesterday, Monday 5th, September, 2022 in protest against the continued indebtedness of the Federal Government to oil marketers with respect to the payment of fuel transportation costs, otherwise called bridging claims.
The strike may cause Abuja, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger and neighbouring states to encounter another round of scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit PMS, popularly called petrol.
The IPMAN Suleja Depot Branch Chairman, Yahaya Alhassan, said marketers had stopped the supply of products from the depot, as the union had prevented trucks from moving PMS to the northern states.
He said marketers were withdrawing their services until the Federal Government settled their outstanding bridging claims of N50.5bn.
He said, “The Petroleum Equalisation Fund has not paid our money. We have N50.5bn (to be paid by PEF) and because of that we are withdrawing our services.”
He said the three-day warning strike would go on if the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority fails to remit the money.
“At the expiration of the warning strike on Wednesday, if they (NMDPRA) fail to pay us, the stoppage of supply would continue indefinitely,” Alhassan stated.
He said all the appeals which the association made to the authority to pay the debt had been ignored.
