The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called for the dredging of Ikot Abasi and Mbo Rivers to enable oil marketers bring in sufficient petroleum products to depots in the state.
The Chairman of IPMAN, Akwa Ibom chapter, Mr Ubong Nyong made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket on Sunday.
According to him, vessels cannot freight petroleum products to the depots in gthe state because the rivers are not dredged.
“The problem we have in the state is that we don’t have functional depots, we depend largely on depots in Calabar for supply of petroleum products.
“We are pleading with government to open the waterways so that marketers can bring in products to the state to avoid unnecessary scarcity,’’ Nyong said.
According to him, the quantity of products the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) supplies the state is inadequate.
The chairman said the state needed about 44 trucks of petrol to meet its daily requirement.
Nyong said every marketer was entitled to lift 10 trucks of petrol, five trucks of kerosene and five trucks of gas monthly.
“But marketers in Akwa Ibom lift only two trucks of petrol in six months. We end up going to private depots to source for products,” he said.
He explained that petrol was sold above N145 per litre in the state because the marketers buy the product above the official price from private depots in Calabar.
“We buy petrol at N139 per litre instead of N133.28 which is approved ex-depot price,’’ he said.
He urged the Akwa Ibom Government to interface with the NNPC in the interim so that they could get sufficient quantity of petroleum products for the state to bring down the price. (NAN)