The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has pleaded with Nigerians to boycott the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, stressing that in less than one month, the country would begin to reap the benefits of the increased pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol.
Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, President of IPMAN, Mr. Obasi Lawson, stated that the benefits might include a reduction in the price of the commodity since the new pump price will liberalize the oil and gas industry and also engender competition.
He called for patience, assuring that the new policy would be beneficial to all at the end, adding that as tight as the new pump price may seem, IPMAN was looking forward to a gradual price decrease that will accommodate all stakeholders in the near future.
Lawson, however, called on the Federal Government to release the proposed palliatives as quickly as possible to cushion the effects of the hike.
He disclosed that the implementation of the policy would initially cause some form of pains, but in less than one month, Nigerians will start reaping the benefits.
The IPMAN leader explained that over 7,000 tickets of PMS cargoes worth more than N20 billion, some of which were as old as one year, were tied up in the NNPC system, while he expressed optimism that with the new policy in place, the pending cargoes would be easily released.
He emphasized that it is pertinent that the market be opened up for other stakeholders, due to the fact that the NNPC cannot meet up with petrol supply requirements in the country.
According to him, “The new policy of the Federal Government that effected the change in price of PMS is a welcome development. We members of IPMAN welcome the policy because it is going to bring about total liberalisation and also engender competition in the industry.
“We have also put arrangement in place to import petroleum products so that we can serve our members. The policy is a good development so the issue of strike should be ignored. In fact, we are calling on all our members to go about their normal businesses and keep their petrol stations open.”
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