The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday fingered players in the downstream sector as responsible for the current shortage of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) being experienced by Nigerians.
The association said it was an added problem when non-state actors begin to arrogate to themselves the power to determine the price of a liter of fuel far above the rate pegged by government in the current subsidy regime.
At the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja yesterday, PENGASSAN president, Comrade Festus Osifo expressed concern that it was more disturbing that the government is equally demonstrating high level of culpability in the unwholesome situation by its silence and unwillingness to frontally and publicly address the harrowing experiences of Nigerians in the current situation, adding that because no concerned and responsive government will bury its head in the sands like the proverbial Ostrich while the citizens are being brutally exploited.
While demanding federal government urgent action against petrol price hike, Osifo noted that the current scarcity has become a source of pain to the Nigerian.
He said, “We demand that the various security agencies, especially the men of Nigerian Customs and Immigration charged with manning the nation’s borders act professionally and in dictates to their oaths of allegiances to stop high rate of smuggling of the products across the West African countries.
The various deports and other storage facilities especially those owned and operated by the NNPC should be upgraded and made accessible to all operators to lift the product. Consequently, we demand an immediate end to the avoidable, unnecessary, crippling and paininducing fuel shortages and unapproved price hike in the country”.
“No excuse is good enough to cripple the country. If there are challenges, they should be fixed; we have a government in power to fix challenges not to make excuses. We are ready and willing to collaborate with the federal government and assist in all ways possible to overcome the country’s present challenges. But we caution it not to take the Nigerian people for granted as it seems to be manifestly doing on various crucial national issues”, he added.
While calling for the arrest and prosecution of those in connection with economic sabotage through oil theft, he said the labour movement was willing to collaborate with the federal government and assist in all ways possible to overcome the country’s present challenges but cautioned not to take the Nigerian people for granted as it seems to be manifestly doing on various crucial national issues .
On the 2023 general elections, the association also backed the Independent National Electoral (INEC) on the use Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine which Osifo said should not be toyed with if Nigeria desire elections that will stand the taste of times.
Among other demands, PENGSSAN called for the stoppage of pension to all political office holders and kill any idea of further increasing their salaries until they justify such increment by first putting the economy in a proper shape and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
The association also frown at the recent clamour by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to increase the salaries and allowances of top public office holders and viewed it as highly insensitive and an afront to the struggling masses and the working class.
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