Princewill Demian
05 January 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja – A mild drama played out on Thursday as three people all claiming to be the National President of the Independent Marketers Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) showed up at the ongoing public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) on the lingering petrol scarcity.
The three men, including Alhaji Abdullahi Sanusi Fari, Elder Chinedu Okorokwo and Mr. Obasi Lawson, all stood up to introduce themselves as ‘National President’ of the association, causing a stir at the event. Also at the meeting was the Chairman Board of Trustees IPMAN Aminu Abdu Kano.
Recall that only yesterday, an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja declared Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo as the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), supposedly bringing an end to years-long bitter fight over the leadership of the organisation.
A statement issued after the National Executive Meeting (NEC), in Abuja, on Wednesday, by the National Secretary of IPMAN, Alhaji Danladi Pasali, quoted him as that that the judgment remained a welcome development for marketers.
In the ensuing confusion, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Sen. Kabiru Marafa finally resolved that only Executive Secretary of IPMAN, Aminu Abdulkadir, another factional Secretary, would be recognised to speak for the association.
The Senate earlier invited the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, on the order of the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki who earlier directed the Senate’s downstream petroleum committee to suspend recess and meet to find a solution to the fuel scarcity in the country.
