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By Adewale Sanyaolu and Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Nigeria’s fragile economy faces fresh turbulence as oil workers threatened to cripple operations at the Dangote Refinery and other fuel outlets nationwide.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) are peeved that Dangote Refinery is barring its workers from joining relevant labour unions.
Some fuel depots in Lagos and Port Harcourt were shut yesterday, in compliance with the union’s directive. NUPENG prevented loading activities at various depots in Apapa, Lagos which has the largest concentration of petroleum products holding facilities. Some of the affected depots in Apapa included; Aiteo, NIPCO, 11PC, Conoil, Ardova Petroleum and Hensmor.
The situation was also the same in Port Harcourt as Bulk strategic and Shoreline depots were prevented from loading by NUPENG members. Many filling stations in Ibadan were, yesterday, shut.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western Zone and NUPENG declared the strike in protest against plans by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, alongside MRS Energy Ltd, to commence direct distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
At press time last night, the Federal Government and NUPENG and other stakeholders were in a meeting in Abuja. The meeting, initially scheduled for 10 am, did not commence until about 5 pm. Before it went into executive session, the Minister of State (Petroleum), Heniken Lokpobiri, had expressed optimism that the discussions would yield positive results, adding that the outcome would be com Recognise and respect the rights of workers to unionize in PENGASSAN, CANMPSSAN, TGTSSAN and NUPENG immediately and unconditionally.”
Failure to comply, TUC warned, would attract a total solidarity action from its affiliates nationwide, stressing that the labour movement stood united with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the fight.
“The TUC hereby urges the Federal Government to immediately stop this anti-people’s plan in its entirety. Failure to do so will leave us with no option but to mobilize Nigerian workers and the masses for a total nationwide resistance. Strike action is firmly on the table if government dares to ignore this warning and go ahead to implement this policy.
“Accordingly, the TUC directs all its state councils, affiliates, and structures nationwide to remain vigilant, watchful and wait for further communication that may culminate into a decisive action should the government dare to further ignore the collective will of the people.
“This is not an appeal. It is a final warning. An injury to one is an injury to all,” it stated.
