Sophia Michaels
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State to settle the outstanding debt of N900.7 million owed to its members for petroleum products they supplied.
The group said the money is owed to about 70 contractors for diesel supplied to the government for power generation sets used to run streetlights across the state for one month.
The transaction reportedly happened in March and April 2022.
Soludo, who took office in March 2022, had complained about the high cost of fueling the generators that powered the streetlights installed by his predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano.
After one month of procuring diesel for the generators, he dumped the streetlights, throwing major highways into darkness. He later installed solar-powered streetlights and deactivated those installed by Obiano.
In a letter to Soludo, signed by Chinedu Anyaso and Emeka Iloafor as chairman and secretary of IPMAN, respectively, the body disclosed that within the one month that Soludo used the Obiano-installed streetlights, their members were owed N900m.
In the letter titled “Request For Debt Payment Of N900,664,805.00 Owed Our Members For Diesel Supplied And Services Rendered In Respect Of Street Lights,” the association said the decision to intervene in the transactions was reached at its annual general meeting in Enugu on August 24.
The letter reads in part: “We, IPMAN covering Anambra, Ebonyi, and Enugu states, write to appreciate the good works you are doing in Anambra and commend all your efforts in making the state a livable place.
“We want to bring to your notice that your department in charge of paying for diesel and services on the Anambra streetlights has refused to offset an outstanding debt owed to our members. The debt is to the tune of N900,664,805 accrued for the months of March and April 2022.”
“Our members are dying because of these debts, and the banks are chasing them around to repay the loans given to them to do this business. We attach the breakdown of the debts for your records, sir.”
When contacted, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Community Affairs, Tony-Collins Nwabunwanne, whose office allegedly oversaw the transaction, said: “I am not aware that they wrote a letter to the governor. I have not seen it, but I know what they are talking about.”
