The Port Harcourt Refinery’s non-operational status, according to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, has forced numerous marketers out of business.
The organisation said this at Tekena Ikpaki’s election as chairman of the Port Harcourt Depot Unit’s 2023 Annual General Meeting/Election, which took place in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Ikpaki, in an interview with reporters, urged the federal government to expeditiously finish the refinery’s ongoing renovations.
Though he pointed out that the delay was hurting local companies, he suggested that the building be finished and put into use, saying that his administration will assure improved leadership of the body.
“We will bring in new ideas into the leadership of the body. We were elected to manage the activities of IPMAN. We want to make a difference.
“It is our sole duty to make sure that everybody is satisfied, even if man’s desires are insatiable. We will try our best to ensure that products that will come from the refinery when it is complete gets to our members and then it gets to our communities.
“The non-functionality of the refinery has crippled a lot of businesses, and a lot of people have gone out of business. People who cannot sustain themselves with the little that is available to them.
“Goods and services as we know moving from one part of the country to another is transportation and this works with petroleum products. The dilapidation of the refinery has affected movement of goods and services,” Ikpaki said.
cc: Punch Ng
