The strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria continues which had reduced loading activities at depots in Apapa, Lagos, raising fear as to another round of scarcity.It is the hope of many Nigeria that despite the exorbitant new fuel price,Federal Government will not try anything funny which can lead to a total shutdown.
PENGASSAN, which embarked on the nationwide strike on Thursday, had said it would begin a gradual withdrawal of its members from oil and gas fields and platforms by next week.
A statement by the association’s National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojugbana, on Friday noted that there was total compliance by their members to the directive to embark on an indefinite strike. He said the strike was not only about the members of the association but also about the survival of the nation’s oil and gas industry.
But the new Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Maikanti Baru, assured that the corporation would ensure that the country does not face another round of petrol scarcity.
Baru and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told journalists in Abuja that they met with members of the oil union on Friday in a bid to end the strike, expressing hopes that the strike would be called off and would not cause scarcity.