Mr Joseph Obele, Chairman, Rivers Chapter, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has advised residents of the state against panic buying of petroleum products as price hits N250 per litre.
Obele gave the advice on Tuesday in Port Harcourt while responding to current hike in price of Premium Motor Spirit ( PMS).
Attributing the current fuel scarcity to lingering political interest within the executives of IPMAN, a situation which he said led to factional leaderships across states.
Obele noted that the current leadership crises has become worrisome in Rivers especially with the absence of a presiding Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources in the state.
The IPMAN boss said that the Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources remained one of the most viable agencies of government and urged the state government to ensure that a Commissioner is speedily assigned to it.
“When we had a Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, there had been no unresolved industrial action that had lasted more than 2 days without been nipped in the bud,” he said.
Obele also commended the PPMC as he said the agency had release some truckloads of PMS to assist cushion hardship of the IPMAN induced action.
The Rivers State Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources is currently without a Commissioner following the last cabinet dissolution over three months ago.
