NUPENG order closure of filling stations over levy

The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) has called out its members on industrial action and enforcing the closure of all filling stations in Cross River state. The group said the action was not unconnected with levy imposed on them by the state government. “We are embarking on the strike over the N12, 800 levy imposed on us by the state government,” a source told our correspondent in Calabar on Wednesday.

The group said the levy was a new way of destabilizing the economy, social and political activities in the state. More importantly, the group noted, was to extort money from the union and rendered them useless. The state government our source revealed tagged the levy, a developmental and road maintenance levy.

The disruption and stoppage of sale of petroleum products brought about untold hardship on the residents who could not buy fuel and are force to trek several kilometres to their destinations. From our findings, each petroleum tanker was charged N12, 800 before lifting from and ply the road of Calabar.

At the time of filling this report, all the filling stations in Calabar were closed down and NUPENG enforcement workers were seen monitoring the order. People are stranded in the entire city, due to the unavailability of vehicles to convey them to and fro their destinations. “As I am talking to you, all tanker drivers are poised with no movement and all petroleum and petroleum products filling stations are closed in Calabar,” NUPENG official who pleaded for anonymity said.

Sadly, the transport fares within the city of Calabar, the state capital has gone up between 300 and 500 percent. A drop that was usually N50 has gone up to between N100 and N200 depending on the distance while fuel in the black market goes for N300 to N500 a litre.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has also called out members on strike, it was gathered.

However, another source hinted our correspondent that the situation was a face-off between PMAN and the state government with the union directing fuel stations to shut down until certain issues, including multiple taxation and harassment of staff by ‘thugs’ and ‘agents’ employed by government, are addressed.

Efforts to get the Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Itaya Nyong, to comment on the issue proved abortive as he could not be reached. Before now, the state government has been accused of arbitrary and multiple taxation despite public pronouncements by the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade that taxation is not the solution to the financial constraints been faced by the state.

However, new boards, agencies and commissions created by him in the past one year have continually imposed various kinds of levies and taxes on the people and failure to pay met with severe penalties.