– Alleges illegal extortion
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has suspended loading of products in Rivers State, over illegal extortion by ‘miscreants’ aided by officers of the Nigerian Army, Police and other security agencies, at private depots.
IPMAN arising from its meeting in Port Harcourt said they have written to the Police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Security, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, on the activities of miscreants who use security agents to disrupt loading of petroleum products in various private depots in the State.
National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Ukadike Chinedu, said the collection of illegal levies from petroleum tanker drivers by soldiers and other security officers have paralyzed loading activities in the private depots.
Chinedu warned that failure of the Nigerian Army, NSCDC and the Police to withdraw the security officers at the depot will give rise to artificial petroleum products scarcity, as the union will not hesitate to shut down filling stations from dispensing products.
He maintained that marketers will no longer load products until operatives of the Army, NSCDC and Police vacate the depots.
“Our attention has been drawn to the report that some miscreants who, in their quest to illegal collection of levies from Petroleum Tanker Drivers at various Private Depots resorted to recruiting some soldiers and other
security officers to give them cover to carry out their nefarious act of collecting levies illegally from the Petroleum Tanker Drivers which have actually paralyzed loading activities in the private depots.
“Besides, it is reported that these soldiers threaten fire and brimstone to the Tanker
Drivers for failure to pay whatever levies imposed by their hirers.
“We make bold to state that our Zonal Executive have not engaged the services of soldiers for collection of levies as we condemn in totality, the use of soldiers and other security agencies, in the circumstance, in occasioning harm on our members and members of the Petroleum Tanker
Drivers.”
Similarly, IPMAN Chairman, Eastern Zone, Chief Bobby Eberechi Dick, charged the Police, Nigerian Army and the DSS to urgently intervene on the matter, by withdrawing the security agents from the depots, in order to avert petroleum products scarcity in Rivers State and its environs especially considering that petroleum products loading have been stalled for days now.
“For the past three days loading have stopped at the depots and our money are being tied down.
“We call on the governor of Rivers State to interven on the matter. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Chief of Army Staff to withdraw these soldiers from the depot so as to avoid artificial scarcity of products.
“The miscreants are demanding that tanker drivers should pay N15,000 before loading. We have never used soldiers to collect levies from our members.”
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