The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western Zone, announced that it will suspend operations from Monday, September 8, in protest against what it perceives as attempts to monopolize the downstream petroleum sector. The decision was taken at a zonal council meeting attended by council members, officers, depot chairmen and secretaries from the five depots in the South‑West region.
Chief Oyewole Akanni, chairman of the zone, said the strike is being carried out in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which has raised concerns about job security for petroleum tanker drivers. The planned entry of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, together with MRS Energy Ltd, into petrol distribution is viewed as a serious threat to the survival of IPMAN members’ businesses.
With more than 4,000 trucks involved in petroleum product lifting, the association fears that many truck drivers and motor‑boys could lose their jobs, potentially crippling the investments of thousands of members. The IPMAN chairman stressed that this move contravenes the Petroleum Industry Act, which prohibits companies that refine crude oil from directly engaging in product distribution, describing it as “a flagrant disobedience to the law guiding operations in the downstream sector.”
The association has called on the Federal Government to intervene and enforce the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, warning that it will resist any attempt to allow a monopoly in the sector. Dangote Petroleum Refinery recently announced plans to commence nationwide distribution of Premium Motor Spirit and Automotive Gas Oil, supported by a logistics programme using 4,000 compressed natural gas‑powered trucks. IPMAN’s decision to shut down operations is a direct response to this development, which it sees as a threat to its members’ livelihoods.
The strike, set to begin on Monday, will test the Federal Government’s response and its commitment to maintaining a level playing field in the downstream petroleum sector.
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