By Abasi Ita
The Eastern Zonal leadership of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has reaffirmed Comrade Robert Obi as the authentic chairman of the association’s Cross River State branch, describing the rival faction led by Mr Peter Okim as illegal.
The zonal leadership also warned that attempts to impose a parallel leadership on the association could trigger tension and disrupt operations in the state’s downstream petroleum sector.
The position was made known on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, during separate courtesy visits by the IPMAN Eastern Zone and other critical stakeholders in the downstream sector to security agencies in Cross River State.
The delegation, led by IPMAN Eastern Zonal Chairman, Prince Bobby Dick, and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Zonal Chairman, Port Harcourt Zone, Comrade Joseph Okafor, visited the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 6, AIG Rasheed Bello Afegbua, the Senior State Security Adviser, Major General Okoi Ubi Obono, and the Cross River State Commissioner of Police, CP Ajo Geoffrey Ordue.
Other members of the delegation included stakeholders from IPMAN zonal branches, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union and the Independent Marketers Branch of NUPENG.
Speaking during the visits, Dick said the delegation was in the state to clarify the leadership situation within IPMAN and prevent individuals from impersonating association officials or imposing unauthorised levies on members.
He said, “We are here today to put the record straight and to tell the security agencies that those people are impersonators, so that they will not have the room to embarrass or impose any levy on our members.”
Dick maintained that the individual who recently conducted what he described as an inauguration in Calabar was not the National Secretary of IPMAN, adding that a subsisting court judgment had settled the matter.
He described Mr Peter Okim and those working with him as impostors, insisting that they had no authority to constitute a parallel leadership or task force within the association.
Dick further warned that the zonal leadership would not allow any purported task force to interfere with petroleum trucks or drivers operating in the state.
“We would not allow the illegal task force to go on the road and start disturbing our trucks or drivers. That is why we came to put the record straight so that the security agencies will know,” he said.
Similarly, the PTD Zonal Chairman, Port Harcourt Zone, Comrade Joseph Okafor, which covers about 12 states, including Cross River, described the move to install a new leadership as an attempt to undermine the association’s established structures.
Okafor said there were laid down procedures for electing IPMAN leaders, stressing that nobody could become chairman merely by obtaining a letter of appointment from an individual or group.
“IPMAN has a constitution, bylaws, checks and balances. Somebody cannot just wake up and claim the chairmanship or constitute a caretaker committee while the zonal chairman and his executive are still in place,” he said.
He urged the government and security agencies to ensure that the situation did not escalate into a crisis at the depot, noting that petroleum products were hazardous and that any disruption could have serious consequences.
Okafor said Cross River remained peaceful and urged all stakeholders to work towards preserving the existing peace.
He added that the government needed to intervene to prevent a situation that could lead to the closure of the depot and disrupt petroleum supply across the state.
Responding to the concerns, AIG Zone 6, Rasheed Bello Afegbua, acknowledged that another group had visited his office a few days earlier but noted that the delegation was smaller than the one before him.
The AIG said the latest delegation, which comprised more than 20 stakeholders from the petroleum industry, had provided useful clarification on the leadership dispute.
He said the security agencies would ensure that they acted appropriately, while urging the IPMAN leadership to keep them informed when the time came to conduct fresh elections.
“Sincerely, if you people had not come, I would have been tempted to believe and accept those other people. You people should guide us to do the right thing,” Afegbua said.
He also sought clarification on the rights of the contending parties over the depot and urged the association to notify the police when a new executive was due to be elected.
Meanwhile, the Cross River State Commissioner of Police, CP Ajo Geoffrey Ordue, described the visit as timely, saying it would assist the police in protecting IPMAN members and their businesses.
Ordue urged the association to cooperate with the police and maintain regular communication with the command.
He also advised IPMAN to pursue legal action against the Peter Okim led group over alleged impersonation and to formally notify the group of any court order affecting the leadership dispute.
The commissioner stressed the importance of peace, noting that no business could thrive in an atmosphere of insecurity and disorder.
Also speaking, the Senior State Security Adviser, Major General Okoi Ubi Obono, said his office would only recognise a leadership duly elected and communicated by the appropriate IPMAN authorities.
Obono said his office expected to receive formal communication from the zonal or national leadership indicating that the tenure of the incumbent executive had expired and that a new election had been conducted.
He said no such communication had been received before another group presented a letter introducing an interim chairman.
“I told him no, things are not done that way. Cross River is a very peaceful state and we don’t want to put it in flames because, if it comes from that angle, a lot of people will suffer,” Obono said.
He assured the delegation of the state government’s cooperation in maintaining peace and ensuring that petroleum businesses continued to operate without disruption.