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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on Cross River state government to stop creating factions among members as the federal High Court Calabar has resolved all leadership crisis.
The IPMAN chairman, Calabar Depot, Comrade Robert Obi, who made the call in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Friday, said the purported inauguration of another IPMAN chairman, one Peter Abang, with the tacit support of the state government is totally illegal and against the spirit of Supreme Court judgement that recognised Obi-led faction at both national and state levels.
Obi further claimed that a Federal High Court judgment had resolved the crisis that had bedeviled the association before the recent action of the State government, regretted that, while the association was pushing for reconciliation of members after the court judgment, the state government has created another round of crisis with the illegal inauguration of one Peter Abang.
He said: Obi said that more worrisome was the fact that Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh was in attendance during the “illegal” inauguration purportedly held on Wednesday.
He said: “We are very worried that the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, was in attendance during the “illegal” inauguration purportedly to give the event a semblance of official colouration. This is sprang a huge surprise to marketers of Calabar unit of IPMAN.
“It is on record that IPMAN Calabar unit is led by Obi who has been piloting the affairs of the association courtesy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Obi and his erstwhile rival in crisis, Elder Edet Umana are at the verge of concluding a conciliation process for peace which has eluded the unit for more than four years to return before this latest unfortunate event.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state that shortly after Gov. Otu’s assumption of office, the leadership of IPMAN under Obi, with their counsel, served the new administration with a letter exhibiting all judgement covering the crisis.
“All that we expected the government to do was to critically examine such documents (judgement) that pronounced Obi the chairman. We wonder the intentions of the government that is supposed to obey and promote the rule of law and now seems to be disobeying it and pitching tent with a newly created faction.”
He further called on the Governor not be seen to be encouraging illegalities or be a party to something that could disintegrate an association.
Reacting, the spokesperson of Gov. Bassey Otu, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche, said the SSG presence at the inauguration of Abang was on the basis of recognition of the national leadership of the petroleum marketers.
He added that it attendance in the inauguration was in relation to the supreme ruling of 2018 that recognised the national leadership they supervised said-election.
