The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Adamawa/Taraba chapter, has expressed resolve to continue its ongoing strike even as petrol sells N2,000 per liter.
The IPMAN Chairman, Alhaji Dahiru Buba, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola on Tuesday.
He said that the strike was occasioned by incessant harassment of its members and illegal seizures of their tankers carrying petrol by officers of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS).
He said, customs officers had abandoned their designated areas of operation at the borders and were now targeting legitimate businesses in metropolitan and local government areas.
According to him, these have lead to financial losses, artificial scarcity and hike in products’ prices and the strike is continue until NCS stop their activities.
NAN reports that the strike and attendant high cost of petrol has resulted in low vehicular movements on the roads.
Abubakar Muhammed, a resident, told NAN that workers and other commuters now find it difficult to get transport to their offices and destinations.
Muhammad explained that this was due to the sharp rise in transport fares as commuters now pay N700 instead of N300 for a drop.
NAN reports that most fuel stations in Yola are closed and motorists can only source petrol from black markets in some parts of the metropolis and state.
NAN recalls that on June 10, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, during a news briefing in Yola, solicited support and cooperation of all stakeholders in the fight against smuggling, especially of petrol.
He said that smuggling of petroleum products across the country’s borders was a sabotage of the Nigeria’s economy.
Adeniyi therefore solicited the cooperation and support of all Nigerians with security agencies to curb the menace. (NAN)
By Ibrahim Kado
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