IPMAN Leadership Tussle: Members In South-east Refuse To Obey Court Judgment – President

National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okoronkwo has said some members of the association in South-east have refused to obey Supreme Court judgment which recognised him as the authentic leader.

In a chat with Prime Business Africa, Okoronkwo said IPMAN leadership conflict had been resolved through a Supreme Court judgment delivered on 17 December 2018 which recognised him as President.

He stated that some marketers from some states in South-east have, however, refused to recognise his leadership because the person he defeated in court, Lawson Obasi, is from the area, and that, according to him, was causing the crisis leading to police coming to Enugu to enforce the court judgment.

He explained that after the court judgment, a directive was given to police to enforce it in the states where marketers have refused to obey.

“This people (referring to some marketers) don’t want to obey Supreme Court, and police have come to enforce it based on the judgment of Supreme Court,” Okoronkwo said.

“Some of them who are not even members of IPMAN are going round threatening people.

“After Supreme Court I think we don’t have any other higher ruling again. It is unfortunate that some of them are not obeying the judgment, but I think that government have responded accordingly, let’s see who will disobey government or disobey the order of the court; that is what police have basically done.”

“Members in different states have come and we have reconciled, but some people in the east, because the man that I defeated, Obasi Lawson, is from there, some of them have refused to obey Supreme Court.”

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A factional president of IPMAN, Alhaji Sanusi Fari, had alleged that the association’s secretariat in the Enugu depot was invaded and attacked on Thursday, by officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

Fari consequently issued a statement directing IPMAN members to withdraw their services from Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) loading depot in Enugu, adding that it will stop their services to members of the public in the states of Enugu, Anambra, and Ebonyi.

Contrary to Fari’s claim, Okoronkwo stated that officers from the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID) under the directive of the Inspector General of Police came to Enugu to enforce the 2018 Supreme Court judgment.

When asked about Fari’s leadership faction of IPMAN, Okoronkwo said Fari was brought in by Obasi who claimed to have handed over to Fari after the court judgment.

He said: “You can go to Supreme Court, Fari was not even in the court, he was not even a beneficiary, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant; he was not party to the suit. So when this man lost in the case, he now brought Fari and their cronies to come and begin to fight. What he now did was to bring them in, claiming that he has handed over.”

Okoronkwo revealed that Obasi had paid him the sum of two million naira fine awarded to Obasi by the court, and said he wondered the legal basis on which the agitation stands, adding that Fari is acting as an impersonator.

Currently, the situation has led to increase in price of petrol in the area as a litre sells between N200 and N250. Some residents of Enugu who spoke with Prime Business Africa confirmed it.

Uche Eze, a transporter, said he bought fuel at N250 per litre. Another resident, Charles Arinze said the price has been fluctuating between N180 and N220 in the past few days.