The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has threatened to suspend its operations in Anambra State over the failure of the Anambra State Government to pay contractors the sum of N900 million owed them for supplying Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) to power streetlights before they were stopped.
This announcement was made by Mr Chinedu Anyaso, Chairman of the IPMAN, Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebony, and Enugu States, in Awka on Friday.
Anyaso explained that after the Anambra State Government had stopped and terminated the contract to supply AGO to power street lights, it subsequently directed the marketers to return all the generators in their custody, with which the contractors complied.
He said that even after the generators in the custody of the IPMAN members that were contacted by the state government for the project were returned, the Chukwuma Soludo-led administration was yet to fulfill its bid by paying the N900,664,805 debt it owed the contractors.
According to Anyaso, this has caused the marketers that were contracted to be heavily indebted to their lenders and caused distress to their businesses due to the trapped capital.
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Anyaso further stated that IPMAN had written the Anambra government to inform it that they had met the conditions set for them to pay the marketers their money.
He said that the Anambra government was yet to respond to the demands of the IPMAN general assembly concerning the diesel supplied and services rendered in respect of street lights.
A copy of the titled “Request For Debt Payment of N900,664,805.00 owed our members for Diesel supplied and Services Rendered in Respect Of Street Lights”, and addressed to the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs reads:
- “We refer to your response on the above subject, dated Nov. 3 on the report of some vendors that are yet to return some of the Government-owned generator sets allotted to them for the street lights projects.
- “Be informed, Sir, that all the generators have been fully returned to the Government.
- “We, therefore, humbly request that the debt payments owed our members for diesel supplied and services rendered be treated and paid as promised,” it said.
