The Kwara State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian (IPMAN) has attributed the scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Ilorin, and environs since a few days ago to the leadership crisis rocking Petroleum Tankers Driver (PTD) in Saki, Oyo State.
No fewer than ten fully loaded PMS tanks belonging to NNPC, BOVAS and RANOL meant for public consumption in Ilorin and its environs, were seen impounded at NNPC depot Oke oyi outskirts of ilorin Friday morning because of the crisis
State Chairman of IPMAN, Alh Abdulateef Kamaja, while addressing journalists in Ilorin on Friday said that the union crisis that led to burning of houses and petrol tankers in Saki was said to have promted the state leadership of PTD to stop petrol tankers from coming to Saki, in order not to escalate the crisis.
All Kamaja also said that petrol tankers were being taken to Saki, through other means, a development that prompted PTD to further stop the products from being taken to other towns.
He said Petrol Tanks that were branded ilorin were wrongfully sighted by PTD to be taking petrol to Saki, when they were indeed going to Baruten and Kaima since its the same route.
He added that it was this development that caused the PTD to extend their sanction that no petrol tankers should come to Ilorin.
“Besides this development is barbaric, how should a crisis in Saki deny the innocent people of Ilorin access to Petroleum products?
“I’m hereby calling on the stakeholders, particularly our government to intervene so that the people of Kwara State would not continue to suffer for a matter they know nothing about.”He added.
He also said that Federal Government has stopped supplying them PMS, the development which affected the buying and the selling price negatively.
He explained that the current buying price of the PMS is between N186 and N190 from Lagos saying it is higher than the selling price of N180 per litre at the pump price.
Kamaja also said that the Federal Government has stopped sending Petroleum products to Ilorin NNPC depot since last year November because of the fuel bunkering that was discovered along the route.
