By Mary Okpalaumu

Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) in Edo and Delta States yesterday staged a peaceful protest, disrupting activities at Rainoil depot, Oghara over the alleged undue increment in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price by the depot owner.

The Protesters barricading the entrance of RainOil depot.

The protesters barricaded the entrance of the fuel depot, chanting solidarity songs and preventing Rainoil owned tankers from loading alleging that Rainoil has refused to supply fuel to them unless they pay a price of N105: 00 as against the stipulated N84: 50 per litre by the Federal Government saying that the product be supplied to them at N95: 00 which the company have made them pay before adding N10: 00 extra to the product.

Spokesmen of the protesters, Comrade Alabi Muyi and Elder Joseph Okolie while speaking to newsmen lamented the hardships the independent marketers and the tanker drivers are undergoing as a result of the “outrageous” increase of petroleum product by depot owners. They called on the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as well as the Federal Government to wade into the issue and sanction defaulting depot owners.

Comrade Muyi speaks: “For the past three weeks we’ve been paying into Rainoil’s account for PMS. The initial money we paid was N84: 50k after which they said we should pay additional N11: 00 which we complied with them because fuel was not available. After paying the N11 yesterday, they said they could not programme that they have left over on ground. And we left, but on getting here this morning, they said we should go and pay additional N10: 00 making N21: 00. We are all saying no. Our load should be given to us for the N11: 00 we’ve paid.

“The Rainoil filling stations in Oghara axis are selling for N86.50 but they are selling to us, owners of filling stations at N105: 00. How do you expect us to sell to the public? You can see that at the end of the day, it is the masses that will suffer. So they should give us what we’ve paid for. Or else there will not be peace.

As the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the management of Rainoil over the issue was opposed by the company’s security personnel who said that they are all in a meeting.