Presidency intervenes in oil marketers’ crisis as Abdulkadir steps downs as IPMAN president

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Crisis rocking the Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday seems to have come to an end following Presidency intervention that led to the National president Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir voluntary stepping down his office.

IPMAN over the months have been engross in a leadership crisis over tenure elongation of the present executive.

Conforming the Abdulkadir stepping down, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo who hitherto was the Vice President has taken over while efforts are on to call for congress to elect new leadership.

Abdulkadir bowing down following the stakeholders meeting summoned by managing director of Products Pipelines and Marketing Company (PPMC) Mr Haruna Momoh in Abuja on Tuesday.

A source said that the meeting was on the directive of the presidency in a conscious bid to end the ongoing leadership crisis in the association

It was learnt that this was ne of the high points of the meeting lasted for over seven hours on Tuesday.

An IPMAN source said that the fate of NIPCO still lies in the coma now as the depot is still incapacitated by the NUPENG leadership even after Abdulkadir had stepped down which was one of the condition set by the NUPENG at the stakeholders meeting .

The source said that one of the reasons the stakeholders on the side of NUPENG is hanging upon as vexation areas is the fact that Abdulkadri did not handover to Obasi as he only gave powers to his erstwhile Vice president.

The source said that the condition at the depot is still tense as commercial activities at the terminal has been totally paralysed.

He said that it was due to the magnitude of people that transact business of every sorts on the Dockyard road and adjourning areas.

“It is becoming clear to NIPCO top shots that Abdulkadri has not been able to handle the situation against the confidence repose in him which may make the core investors and other keen shareholders exploit other means.

The source said that “ the revised IPMAN constitution, it is the board of trustees of the association that is expected to conduct the election.

“But unfortunately the new board of trustees had not be constituted before Abdulkadri stepped down thus likely to create a lacuna.

“Under the new constitution which was also subject of litigations at the Federal High Court Port Harcourt but which was nullified by the court.

“The old constitution which Abdulkadri led executive claimed had been amended created room for the newly approved President according to court order to organise the election,’’ the source said.