PENGASSAN Rejects Subsidy Removal

Ahead the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) today in Lagos, an officer of the union in the state, Comrade Chika Onuegbu told The Tide that the union has rejected the removal of subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government.

Comrade Onuegbu who is also the state chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC) said the removal was unacceptable to PENGASAN   as a statutory member of the regulatory agency, Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

The labour leader added that the federal government’s removal of subsidy on petrol was considered to have been done in bad faith and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

Comade Onuegbu said the National Secretariat of the union had issued the statement ahead of the National Executive Council meeting in Lagos today to the effect that the union called on Nigerians to gird their loins and begin immediate mobilisation to stop the ongoing implementation of the policy.

According to him,  PENGASSAN stated that “the union rejects as totally unacceptable and a gross display of bad faith the unilateral increase in the pump price of petrol by the government in the guise of subsidy removal.”

Continuing he said, the union considered that “it is very unfortunate that the only gift government can give to long – suffering Nigerians in this New Year and season  of goodwill is the poisoned chalice of fuel price increase”.

He further explained that “marketers are inflicting hardship on Nigerians by shutting down  fuel stations to create artificial scarcity while the few that open are selling the same product they bought at subsidised rates at ridiculously high prices.

The labour leader emphasised that NEC of PENGASSAN would reaffirm the position already taken by the union’s national leadership on the fuel subsidy removal in the interest of Nigerians.

Philip Okparaji