Proprietors of filling stations in Imo state under the aegis of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday shut down their filling stations in protest of alleged extortion and arbitrary taxations by the state government.

The dealers locked up their business premises as early as 5:30 am which caught motorists unawares, leaving many stranded for the day.http://crimefacts.org/filling-stations-shut-down-in-owerri-over-n1million-government-taxation-commuters-face-fare-hike/

Proprietors of filling stations in
Imo state under the aegis of
Independent Petroleum Marketers
Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)
today (Monday) shut down their
filling stations in protest of alleged
extortion and arbitrary taxations by
the state government.
The dealers locked up their business
premises as early as 5:30 am which
caught motorists unawares, leaving
many stranded for the day.
Commuters, particularly civil
servants, school children, market
women and traders who had trooped
out to board taxis for their various
destinations experienced difficulties
securing transportation and were
also astounded by the sharp
increment in fares.
Only few commercial vehicles that
had fuel left over from the previous
day or obtained fuel through the
black market were on the road and
hiked their fares by 100 percent.
The state chairman of the
Independent Petroleum Marketers
Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Mr.
Christopher Amadi blamed the strike
on the state government for its
alleged draconian imposition of
N1million on each proprietor of a
filling station in the state.
Amadi stated that various meetings
between his association and the
state government over the modus-
operandi of businesses in the state,
the latter (State Government) had
directed the IPMAN members in the
state to pay a levy of N1million to re-
validate their operations in the state
in line with a new regulation which
the association rejected.
He therefore said that the strike was
in response to government’s
determination to force the levy down
the throat of the members.
IPMAN in the state had written to the
national bodies of PENGASSON and
NUPENG notifying them of the levy
and the threat of the state
government to seal off filling stations
that fails to pay on Monday, 24th
June, 2013.
The bodies in turn told IPMAN, Imo
state, to ignore the directive but
advised that if the state was bent on
allegedly forcing the outrageous levy
on fuel dealers, that IPMAN, Imo
state should shut down and
commence a protest strike.
Commenting, the Secretary of the Imo
State Petroleum Task force, one Mr.
Martins said that the strike by IPMAN
was caused by government agencies
who engage in arbitrary taxations of
petroleum dealers.
The state Commissioner for
Information, Culture and Tourism Mr.
Chinedu Offor in his reaction, said
that the state government had earlier
intimated all associations operating
business in the state on its
modalities and guidelines to remain
afloat, stressing that government
would no longer tolerate groups or
individuals that are not ready to
comply with it.
But in a conflicting statement, his
Lands, Survey and Urban
Development counterpart, Mr. Uche
Nwosu explained that the state
government had since directed the
management of the Owerri Capital
Development Authority (OCDA) to
suspend all discussions bordering
on the imposition of levy on IPMAN
in the state until further notice.
As at the time of filing this report,
filling stations in the state were still
shut and there was still no indication
that the mass action would be called
off by the dealers.