Another nationwide fuel scarcity looms as PENGASSAN threatens strike

Nigeria may be in for another fuel scarcity as members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Wednesday threatened to shut down.

This is in protest of the increasing oil theft and vandalism.

Festus Osifo, the President of PENGASSAN, made the intentions of the association known at a press conference held in Abuja, lamenting that crude oil theft had crumbled the nation’s economy.

He, however, declared that oil workers are ready to withdraw their services if the government pays lip service to their demands of fighting the menace with sincerity and sense of purpose.

Osifo said the union had engaged and dialogued with critical stakeholders, agencies of government and service chiefs on how to curb oil theft, stating that despite all meetings, none had yielded the desired result, due to the cartels that are largely feasting on it and crumbling the economy.

“This is a menace that is leapfrogging the country. This is the reason Nigeria keeps borrowing to finance the national budget. enough is enough. We have to add our voice to the current struggle. It is not going to be a one-off thing. Companies are shutting down, our members are losing their jobs in services and producing companies.

“The business is that bad now because companies are struggling to sustain the workforce. This is a real crisis that government of the day must develop the muscle and political will to chase out the oil thieves. What is happening is beyond blame game. This is the time to practicalise what we have been saying. The earlier government acts fact, the better for the economy,” he said.