Just as Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief after fuel supply was restored last week, fuel queues are back to petrol stations in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos and other parts of the country.
This is following the strike action declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) last week after the group threatened to embark on an indefinite strike beginning from today.
The union’s action follows the expiration of an ultimatum it gave to the Federal Government to address issues which they consider detrimental to the welfare of their members.
In a statement last week, PENGASSAN ordered the shutting down of all oil and gas installations, resulting in the disruptions to fuel supply and distribution across the country.
PENGASSAN giving reasons for the strike action alleged anti-labour practices against some of its members by some indigenous oil companies.
Other reasons include the alleged sack of workers by one of the oil companies due to their involvement in union activities and non-remittance of workers’ taxes to the PFAs by the same company.
PENGASSAN’s spokesman, Fortune Obi, told Channels Television that the strike became inevitable following the failure of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, to resolve the industrial dispute.
Last week, many woke up to long queues at petrol stations in some cities across Nigeria, with the Independent Marketers and the NNPC trading blame on the cause of the fuel scarcity.
This week, the long queues persist as the PENGASSAN nationwide strike commences.
CHANNEL S
