By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Calabar depot has threatened to cripple the supply of petroleum products by shutting down the Calabar depots.
The petroleum dealers also said that plans are in top gear to closed down 400 petrol stations in both Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, following incessant harassment if its members by men and officers of the police.
Speaking to journalists on the matter, IPMAN chairman, Calabar Depot, Comrade Robert Obi, stated that it is becoming a habit by the police to not only harass the leadership and attempt to impose a factional leader, even when the issues cornering who the authentic chairmen is has been laid to rest; stressing that the issue of national president had been settled by the Supreme Court.
IPMAN Calabar Depot is made up of over 500 members from Benue, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states; and they are members of the Eastern zone of the association.
The Eastern Zone of IPMAN has been having a running battle with officers of the Nigeria Police Force over alleged attempts by the police to foist a factional leadership on IPMAN across Enugu, Abia, Rivers, and Cross River states.
The IPMAN chairman wondered what the interest of the police is in the affairs of the association, stressing that the Supreme Court judgment of February 21, 2019 and that of the Federal High Court, Calabar dated June 19, 2019 have settled the succession tussle.
He said, “Both judgements recognized automatic succession of the Deputy National President, Alhaji Sanusi Abdu Fari, as National President of IPMAN, based on the 1997 constitution of the association.”
According to the chairman, a month ago, the National President of the association, Alhaji Fari, had in a statement, raised the alarm with dismay, the incessant attack on it’s members by the police at IPMAN’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, Aba, Calabar, Enugu and Makurdi depots and directed its members to withdraw their services immediately from all loading depots if the harassment is not stopped.
He added that three weeks after the suspension of the strike due to intervention by some top government functionaries and the police authorities, the Calabar secretariat of IPMAN was allegedly invaded by policemen, purported to have been drafted from the Federal Housing Police Division, Calabar, at about 6:00pm on Thursday, September 29, this year.
The IPMAN chair that even the legal unit of the police headquarters, headed by one CP Daso Oruebo, had advised police to recognize the leadership of Alhaji Fari and withdraw from the occupation of the IPMAN national secretariat in Abuja, in compliance with the court orders, which incidentally should be extended to other branches, having emerged from the same process.
He lamented that rather than police authorities enforcing the orders and restoring peace in the association in Eastern zone, they are rather igniting fire and trying to impose a leadership on the members, especially in Calabar Depot, “thereby creating an unknown faction to take over our secretariat at Calabar Depot.”
He added, “We want to draw the attention of the general public to the continued harassment of our leadership and some members of IPMAN in the name of enforcing a directive by a top Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG. We were surprised that on Thursday, 29, 2021 abot 6;00pm, a police team from Federal Housing Division stormed our secretariat and tried to force us out and install an illegal leadership.
“When we confronted them, they told us they got orders from above to come and take over our office at Calabar Depot. And if this act of impunity continues, we shall not hesitate to withdraw the services of our over 500 members. Besides, we would go further to shut down the over 20 depots in our branch and close down over 400 petrol stations to protest the attack on our office and harassment of our members. We have over suffered in the hands of the police.
“The police have no business in how we run our affairs; neither do they have the right to determine who and who our members are. They have attempted to take over our secretariat in Port Harcourt, our members resisted them there. Now, they have come down to Calabar to chase our members out of our secretariat and we shall continue to resist such illegal moves.
“Our last option is to embark on an indefinite strike in the days ahead. It is the economy and the public that would suffer the consequences of the strike as other branches would not hesitate to join us in the fight to liberate IPMAN in the zone. So, we call on the Federal Government and the police authorities to call their men to order.”
However, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, while reacting to the issues, stated that all the allegations regarding the police trying to support the installation of one factional leadership of the petroleum dealers was false.
Ugbo said, “The police are not aware that a team of policemen from Federal Housing Division invaded IPMAN’s secretariat,” stressing that the police would investigate the allegations of the invasion of the secretariat.
