The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has congratulated Prof. Chukwuma Soludo on his inauguration as Governor of Anambra.
Mr Chinedu Anyaso, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States gave the congratulatory message in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Friday.
Anyaso lauded Soludo for proposing to work on Anambra economy that would be independent of oil by activating its internally generated revenue base and strengthening its fiscal regime.
He said the exploration of oil in commercial quantities and recognition of Anambra as an oil-producing state provided an opportunity for Soludo to grow the state’s oil sector.
The IPMAN chairman, however, said that the absence of a functional petroleum depot in the zone was posing a serious challenge to marketers in the area.
Anyaso said marketers in the zone relied on Calabar, Warri and Lagos for products with attendant risk and additional cost.
He urged the governor to help address the challenges by using his position to influence the establishment of a tank farm or modular refinery to serve the area.
“We are happy that Gov. Soludo in his inaugural address showed leadership, with his experience and reach, he has the capacity to help build the southeast economy.
“IPMAN believes that it is an opportunity to develop the oil and gas sector of Anambra and the entire southeast.
“Right now, we don’t have a functional NNPC depot, tank farm, or refinery in the zone and all these are affecting our operation of sourcing materials.
“So we are hoping that with the oil exploration activities, Prof. Soludo in collaboration with his colleagues in the area will look in the direction of citing a tank farm or refinery in the state, this will not only ease our business but boost the economy,” he said.
Anyaso therefore said the leadership of IPMAN was ready to have a conversation with the governor on how to optimise opportunities in the sector.
