According to reports, some oil marketers are threatening to embark on an industrial action following the shut down of Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company, NIPCO, by National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG.
It could be recalled that NUPENG shut down the NIPCO facilities on March 24.
Chairman of a concerned group of IPMAN, Mr. Abidemi Agunbiade, in an interview with newsmen, said that the shut down of the NIPCO had affected over 1,000 marketers who had paid money to load petrol.
According to him, over 450 million litres of fuel imported to discharge into NIPCO depot are still on the high seas due to the shut down of the company.
"About four vessels are on the high seas including those of the NNPC.
"The stranded vessels are paying demurrage of 15,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars on daily basis due to the shut down of NIPCO by the leadership of NUPENG,'' he said.
The concerned marketers said that the shut down had congested Apapa jetty with vessels that were ready to discharge products to NIPCO tank farms.
Agunbiade said that about 80 million litres of petrol had been shut at the depot.
He said that the depot dispensed over 20 per cent of total fuel demand of the nation.
Agunbiade said that all the retail outlets of IPMA would be shut down if NIPCO was not reopened by March 31.
"We are just being careful not to shut down our retail outlets nationwide because we control over 87 per cent retail outlets.
When the National Ssecretary of NUPENG, Isaac Eberare was contacted on phone, he said: "I am not in Lagos, I don't know what is happening.
"The NUPENG president is the only person that can answer the question on NIPCO's closure."
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