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IPMAN Western Zone resolves to shut all operations across South West depots from Monday
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Marketers allege breach of Petroleum Industry Act in Dangote, MRS downstream entry
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Strike planned in solidarity with NUPENG tanker drivers facing job losses
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western Zone, has announced a total shutdown of operations effective Monday, September 8, over what it described as attempts to monopolise the downstream petroleum sector by Dangote Refinery and MRS Energy Ltd.
The association reached the resolution during its zonal council meeting in Ibadan on Saturday, which gathered council members, officers, depot chairmen, and secretaries across the South West.
Chief Oyewole Akanni, Chairman of the Western Zone, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the planned entry of Dangote Refinery and MRS Energy into direct fuel distribution posed a grave threat to the survival of independent marketers, warning that thousands of investments risk collapse.
According to him, the development breaches provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which bars refining companies from directly distributing products.
He warned that members operating over 4,000 trucks face imminent disruption and that petroleum tanker drivers could lose their livelihoods.
Akanni confirmed that the strike was a unanimous resolution of the zonal council and would compel all members across depots to close filling stations from Monday until further notice.
The strike also aligns with the concerns of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which has raised alarm over job security for tanker drivers and motor boys.
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Meanwhile, Dangote Petroleum Refinery is finalising its nationwide distribution rollout with 4,000 new CNG-powered trucks, backed by a ₦720 billion logistics investment.
The scheme, initially slated for August, is designed to cut middlemen from supply chains, reduce distribution costs, and deliver daily volumes of 65 million litres of petroleum products directly to stations and industries.
