The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Thursday decried the loss of some of their petrol tankers following repeated attacks on their trucks by hoodlums exploiting the #EndSARS protesters.
It was gathered that angry protesters again attacked three petrol laden trucks and burnt the oil tankers on Thursday in Warri, Delta State.
This came as the Board of Trustees of the Oil and Solid Mineral Producing Area Landlords Association of Nigerian urged protesters across the country to sheathe their swords as the destruction of oil assets and others had become alarming.
The Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, told our correspondent in Abuja that three petrol tankers with products belonging to oil marketers were set on fire on Thursday.
He said, “The protesters are burning our petrol trucks as we speak right now in Warri. They are burning three trucks. The cost or value of the content in those trucks is about N90m.
“That is outside the worth of the trucks that are being burnt. This is why we asked our tanker drivers to park or temporarily halt the movement of products.”
The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Thursday that oil marketers had asked petroleum tanker drivers to temporarily suspend the movement of petrol, diesel, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, among others, as a result of the #EndSARS protests in various locations nationwide.
Ukadike had told our correspondent on Wednesday that the decision to pause the movement of petroleum products was to avert any disaster that could arise from the vandalism of oil tankers by angry protesters.
“That advise on the temporary halt of tankers movement was vital, particularly for volatile locations where protesters are highly aggressive. So that is what is happening now in Warri, the petrol trucks of oil marketers are being burnt,” he stated on Thursday.
The IPMAN official urged the Federal Government to dialogue with protesters, adding that protests should be carried out in designated areas to avoid the destruction of public infrastructure.
He said there was a need for government to empower a team that would adequately address the concerns of protesters.
On their part, OMPALAN in a statement signed by its BOT, Chairman, Udo Azogu, said the demands of the protesting youths were genuine.
It, however, called for the immediate cessation of the nationwide demonstrations in view of government’s endorsement of the initial five-point demand by the protesters.
It said, “This will enable government to fully deploy its machinery to attend to the demands of the protesting youths without distractions.
“It will also close the door to miscreants desiring to use the occasion to cause a breach of constitutional peace and order as is being witnessed across the country.”
OMPALAN said it was disturbed that the good intentions of the protesting youths were gradually being hijacked by aggrieved persons who were now calling for regime change. (Punch)
