Petroleum Dealers Association, Delta State chapter on Thursday threatened to shut down all petrol stations across the state over what they described as outrageous levies by government agencies.
The association made this threat after rising from an emergency meeting held in Warri, Delta State.
The association said if the state Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, does not call all parties involved in the matter to a round table discussion within the next seven days, they will be forced to shut down all their outlets in the state.
Secretary of the association, Comrade Francis Agetue, who spoke to newsmen shortly after the meeting, said issues of irregular demand notices, double taxations and outrageous bills mostly from the Delta State Waste Management Board and committees have been disturbing them.
He said the association was no longer comfortable with all the outrageous demand notices been served to their members, adding that some of their members have also been taken to mobile courts.
He said, “The worst of them all is the one from the Delta state Waste Management Board who is giving out demand notices raging from 200 thousand naira to 500 thousand naira, to both Independent and Major marketers across the state.
“We are so aggrieved and that is why as I am here now we are calling on all the filling stations in the state to shutdown
all their outlets, all their stations if they do not stop embarrassing and harassing our members.
“We have been having meeting with internal revenue board for a harmonised tax payment whereby we have to pay to one account for Delta state collectively, so that government will be able to access that account and the funds.
“This is why we are calling on all both IPMAN, and the Independent marketers that within a fortnight we are going to shut down all the filling station in the state.
“And until the governor calls and address the issue and we know where stand, who we are paying money to and what we are paying for, we may remain closed.
“This is the first time we are going to do it and we are going to stand by it. There is no going back on this.
“We have one demand notice here from the Delta State Waste Management Board that says we should pay the sum of 500 thousand naira as fine for ‘discharge of waste/liquid into the stream, rivers, creeks, lakes, drainage,streets and no sanitary waste bin with tight fitting cover.’
“It’s embarrassing. Which dealer is going to come out and tell you that he is making a net profit of 500 thousand naira a year. Let that person come out and tell us.”