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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), South East zone, has distanced itself from the ongoing dispute between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The National Ex-Officio representing the East at the National Executive Council (NEC) of IPMAN and former chairman, Enugu Depot, Chief Chukwudi Ezinwa, made this clarification in Enugu while addressing claims that the zone was involved in the standoff.
Ezinwa stressed that the South East IPMAN has not declared any strike and will await guidance from the association’s national leadership.
“We can’t say anything on this issue for now because the National President, Alhaji Gerima Shettima, has not made any pronouncement. The matter is between our employers and an investor. What we need now is dialogue, not escalation,” he explained.
While urging caution, Ezinwa expressed concern about the impact of a possible strike on ordinary Nigerians.
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“Let nobody add more pain to the injury of the masses. If a strike happens, Dangote, governors, Senators, and the rich won’t feel it. It’s only the poor and common man on the street that will suffer,” he appealed.
He advised both parties to embrace dialogue as the only way forward. “Dangote and NUPENG should sit down and talk. If there’s a misunderstanding, we should find a solution at the table,” Ezinwa said.
The IPMAN official also dismissed the claim by Prince Bobby Dick that he is the Zonal Chairman of IPMAN in the East, describing him as an impostor.
“We don’t know him as our Zonal Chairman. Our Zonal Chairman, Chief Larry Nworu, is still in the mortuary, waiting for burial. It’s disrespectful for anyone to parade himself as chairman at this time,” he insisted.
Ezinwa reaffirmed that IPMAN in the South East remains committed to stability in the petroleum sector and will continue to take directives from its recognised national leadership.
