Worried about the non-payment of bridging claims amounting to N70 billion, the Northern Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in nine Northern states has embarked on three days withdrawal of services at depots as a warning strike.

According to the spokesman for IPMAN in Borno State, Abdulkadir Mustapha, the non-payment is inflicting untold hardship on their members.

Mustapha told journalists in Maiduguri on Monday that this development had made them to resolve “at our meeting held in Kano state to withdraw our services at the depots for three days.”

Mustapha threatened that the failure of authorities to respond and pay all their unsettled claims would result in indefinite strike and shutting down of all filling stations.

He said: “Henceforth all products lifted must be settled or paid for within the stipulated period of 30 days as earlier agreed. Failure to do so will lead to indefinite suspension of our services in all depots and filling stations across the northern region.

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“Though, some few payments had been made which are less than five per cent of our claims but greater part of the claims has not been settled. More so, no payment has been made with with regard to this year’s claims, and a lot of the year 2019/2021 still remain unpaid.

“For years, we have been following and lobbying the management of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) regarding our unsettled bridging claims amounting to N70 billion to no avail.

“As peace-loving association, we urge the authorities to settle or pay all the unsettled claims. We cannot be lifting fuel from far South to the North without being paid. Our decision to go for the warning strike is to draw the attention of authorities to take action, that is why we didn’t shut down our outlets to cause unnecessary hardship to the citizenry.”

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He appealed to the Federal Government to intervene by prevailing on NMDPRA to pay all understanding claims to avert indefinite strike which may affect fuel distribution across the northern region.”

The nine states with the NNPC Limited depots include Borno, Adamawa, Kano, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, Gombe, Niger and Sokoto.

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