Joseph Ebele, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Rivers chapter, has said the ongoing Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union (PTD) strike could lead to fuel scarcity.

Mr Ebele, who expressed the worry in a statement on Thursday in Port Harcourt, said the strike, if not stopped, might lead to queues at filling stations.

He explained that the misunderstanding that ensued when petrol in two tankers impounded by security operatives “went missing.”

“I want to state that about two months ago, two trucks suspected to have been loaded with adulterated petroleum products were impounded by security operatives.

“The trucks were, however, shifted to the security base while samples were also collected for further laboratory analysis. After the analysis, it was confirmed that the suspected products were actually legitimate products and not adulterated as claimed by the security personnel.

“On that note, the owners of the products were invited to claim their goods, but when they got to the security base, the two originally fully-loaded trucks were found empty,” said the IPMAN leader.

He added that due to the inability to explain the “disappearance” of the fuel, the PTD declared a statewide strike.

“PTD has declared that no truck is permitted to load or convey petroleum products in any depot within the state pending replacement of the alleged missing products,” he said.

Mr Ebele further stated that IPMAN was dispensing reserved products to fuel stations and might run short of products if the situation lingered.

(NAN)