By Innocent Obasi
The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said that the Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, will be available and affordable in two weeks.
IPMAN made this disclosure in a statement released by Mike Osatuyi, the national operations controller of the association, during an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show.
“Yesterday, there was a meeting in Abuja and the president of IPMAN was there and he gave me feedback on the meeting. So, I can say the NNPC is ready to find a solution to the crisis. They’ve now agreed that they will open more depots for IPMAN to be loading products through their platform at official price and this is what we have been clamouring for years.
“From what I gathered now, they are given 14 days to clean up the mess. By the next two weeks, we should be able to buy at a very reasonable price. We must all work in the interest of Nigerians and let Nigerians benefit from this subsidy,” he said.
Osatuyi added that marketers are putting measures in place to end the perennial fuel scarcity across the country, adding that all stakeholders have agreed to sell fuel at affordable prices to reduce the burden on Nigerians.
Responding to the issue of smuggling, which the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had earlier said was a major cause of the fuel crisis, he said that all hands must be on deck to put an end to it.
He recommended that the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers must direct its members not to transport fuel trucks to neighbouring countries.
“When it comes to all the challenges causing the fuel crisis, you can’t rule out the bad eggs across all strata of the system. But at the same time, it takes everyone to say drop this nonsense and let us be born again,” Osatuyi said.
