The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Aba Depot, has appealed to the South-East National Assembly Caucus to wade into the protracted crisis that paralysed operations at the Aba and Enugu depots.
The chairman of the association, Oliver Okolo, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in his office in Aba on Tuesday.
Okolo said that business activities at the NNPC Aba depot came to a standstill about two years ago and rendered the facility moribund.
He spoke extensively about the poor state of the depot and the economic consequences for IPMAN members and other ancillary businesses.
He said that at least 2,000 direct and indirect businesses that usually took place daily at the depot had all closed down.
According to him, at a time when the depot was functioning at about 40 per cent capacity, it supported many ancillary businesses, aside from marketers.
He said that at least 200 trucks usually load products at the depot daily, hence engaging not less than 600 truck drivers with their two support personnel.
“There were also scores of vendors in food and assorted wares, including water and drinks, amongst other businesses that were sustained by the depot. All these have shut down,” he said.
