The Commandant General (CG), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, has ordered the immediate removal of Rivers Commandant of the corps, Mr Michael Ogar.
This is contained in a statement by NSCDC Director Public Relations, Mr Olusola Odumosu on Thursday in Abuja.
The removal of the commandant followed the blockade of the NSCDC Command office in Rivers by members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) on Wednesday.
The blockade followed the impoundment of three oil trucks belonging to members of the union by NSCDC personnel.
Odumosu said that the NSCDC CG had ordered Ogar to hand over to his deputy pending the deployment of a substantive State Commandant.
He added that a high-powered panel, headed by Deputy Commandant General Operations, Dauda Mungadi, has been constituted to investigate the matter.
The spokesman added that the panel was directed to objectively investigate the role played by Ogar and personnel of the command Anti-vandal team in the situation that led to the protest.
“I have given the committee a marching order to ascertain the role played by either of the parties.
“Anyone found guilty would be severely dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the law,” Audi said.
He assured the public of unbiased investigation, and appealed to all interested stakeholders to await the outcome of the investigation.
Audi however expressed shock at the action of NUPENG which painted a surprising scenario and unwarranted contradiction to the ideals of the corps.
“Nigerians are fully aware that we are the lead agency in protection of critical government assets and infrastructure.
“Therefore, under my watch, no act of indiscipline, compromise or sabotage would be condoned from anyone within and outside the corps.
“Humility and integrity in service delivery is the watchword of the corps, as such, any breach of trust or suspected compromise by any personnel will not be treated with kid gloves,” he assured.
The CG said the NSCDC will continue to sanitise the oil sector by waging relentless war against oil thieves and illegal oil bunkerers sabotaging the nation’s economy.
He enjoined all critical stakeholders to continue supporting the corps with credible information that will help in tackling nefarious activities in the sector.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Tuesday picketed Lagos office of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) over the death of its member, Babalola Oladimeji.
The union members, who chanted solidarity songs in protest over the death of the contract staff, held placards with inscriptions such as ‘’Justice for Babalola Oladimeji’’; ‘’Implement Collective Bargaining Agreement for Xepameadow now’’.
NUPENG Lagos Zonal Chairman, Mr Tayo Aboyeji, alleged that late Oladimeji, a contract staff of Xepameadow General Services – a contractor to Chevron was found dead at a hotel where he was lodged by CNL to carry out an official assignment.
According to him, members of the union are suspecting ‘foul play’ by the CNL management over the death of Oladimeji and are asking for a probe into his death.
He also alleged that the Chevron management was yet to commiserate with the deceased’s family since his death in Dec. 2021.
‘’We are here to protest against the CNL management; we could not find one of our members, Oladimeji.
‘’We searched for him, later we discovered his dead body in a swimming pool at the hotel.
‘We have been asking lots of questions; the wife has become a widow and children have become fatherless; it is not acceptable; we want Chevron management to explain how Oladimeji died.
‘’To make matters worse, since his death on Dec. 20, 2021, Chevron Xepameadow management has not visited the family to commiserate with the family,‘’ he said.
The zonal chairman also alleged that CNL management was yet to sign the Collective Bargaining Agreement of Xepameadow workers for over 12 years.
He said that as a result of such act, workers benefits were stalled including that of late Oladimeji.
‘’We want them to know that we are capable of shutting down Chevron and Nigeria in general because of our member who died, ‘’ Aboyeji said.
Responding, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, CNL, Mr Esimaje Brikinn, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that members of NUPENG protested at the gates of CNL’s Lekki office.
‘’We understand that the protest is in connection with an incident that happened on Dec. 20, 2021, involving a staff of Xepameadow General Services Limited, one of CNL’s third party independent contractors.
‘’He was was found dead at the swimming pool of Genesis hotel, Ikeja, Lagos by a hotel staff; the protesters also raised some other labour issues they have with their employer,’ he said.
Brikinn said that the fatality was a non-work-related incident and CNL worked closely with the deceased’s employer and hotel management at the time, to ensure the case was reported at the Ikeja Division of the Nigeria Police.
According to him, all required notifications were also made.
He explained that Xepameadow was an independent contractor providing services to CNL.
He said, ‘’Accordingly, given that the deceased was Xepameadow’s employee, Xepamedow has been engaging with their personnel and union representatives to resolve the issues raised amicably.”
A commercial cab driver Adewole Kufuriji, looked both exhausted and worried. He had spent the entire night of Friday, March 4th inside his car parked along the road close to a filling station around Jakande Estate Isolo, Lagos Nigeria, not because he didn’t have a house to retire to or that his vehicle broke down, but because he needed to refill his near-empty fuel tank to guarantee food for himself and his family, and attend to other exigencies.
The many hours he risked on the road in the dead of the night was responsible for his tired look, but his worry was that this effort proved futile, as he was unable to refill his car and could not work to provide for his wife and three children.
“I wasted seven hours in the queue and still could not buy fuel. The stations don’t sell for more than one hour and before it could reach my turn, they stopped selling. I have parked my car at home because to buy from the black market is expensive and passengers will refuse to pay if you increase the price of transport. I don’t know how I will continue to provide for my family,” Kufuriji said.
Happiness Illiya, a young lady in her mid-thirties resides in one-man-village, a settlement in Nasarawa State close to the Federal Capital Territory border. Speaking with our correspondent, she said transport fares have gone up by at least 50 per cent since the fuel scarcity started, and that commuting to her workplace in the Abuja central area has been physically stressful and financially difficult to cope with, considering she earns N40,000.00 monthly.
“In a day, I spend close to N1,000.00 on transport and there has been no plan to cushion the effects of this fuel scarcity. At the end of the month, I would have spent more than half of my income on transport and have little remaining for food and other expenses. Government should do something to help low-income earners in the country,” Illiya appealed.
For Fumilayo Ajao residing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, her worry was about the rising cost of foodstuff and other basic commodities like cooking gas occasioned by the hike in transportation. She said surviving in Nigeria is becoming more and more difficult even for the working class, saying she has had to cut down on some expenses in order to cope with the situation.
Despite reassurances from the government, the fuel scarcity which began about a month ago continues to bite harder, causing physical and economic hardship to the populace. Long queues at filling stations persist across many cities in the country both in the day and at night, causing heavy gridlock, with motorists spending an average of four hours to buy fuel.
The hydra-headed reasons for the prolonged fuel scarcity
TNG’s investigation has revealed that the latest fuel scarcity, which was initially thought to be caused by the importation of off-spec gasoline and then panic buying, is now being sustained by a raise in the ex-depot rate from the official N148.77 per litre to as much as N185 by some private depot owners due to prevailing circumstances, including the recent Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) last month.
TNG reports ex-depot price is the price at which depot owners sell the product to retail outlets and fuel marketers across the country. Findings by this newspaper revealed that out of about 130 depots in the country, 21 are owned by the NNPC, with the remaining 109 owned by private entities, and satellite depots, among others.
For about five years running, the NNPC has remained the sole importer of fuel, as most depot operators have been forced out of business due to scarcity of FOREX and the official retail price range of N162-N165, which oil marketers say leaves very little profit margin. So rather than import directly, these oil majors who own private depots buy from the NNPC and resell to retailers.
Petrol import into Nigeria between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 1st quarter of 2021 (in billion Naira)
Ideally, this should be done at the Corporation’s inland depots to reduce administrative bottlenecks and enable oil majors to sell at the approved N148/litre ex-depot price; but in reality, vessels are discharged at sea and third-party marketers say they incur additional costs such as clearance fees that make it unrealistic to sell petrol at the official ex-depot rate to retailers.
While there have been calls for an upward review of the ex-depot price, the NNPC last month introduced a Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge of N500,000 for each trans-shipment operation to cover manpower, logistics, among others.
“Please be informed that the NNPC management has directed that effective February 10, 2022, the sum of N500,000 will be charged for STS Coordination fees for each trans-shipment operation involving the NNPC Marine Logistics. A Remita payment request will be generated by our accounts section for each operation to effect necessary payment upon the vessel’s tendering Notice of Readiness,” the letter from NNPC addressed to all oil marketers read in part.
Subsequently, some private depot owners have reflected this additional operational cost in their ex-depot price causing it to soar from the official N148/litre to between N180-N185/litre. In turn, some retailers afraid of being sanctioned for selling above the N165/litre are unable to purchase the product for N180/litre, but in many states like Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Bayelsa, Niger and Nasarawa, some daring retailers have adjusted their pump price to between N200-N250/litre in order to stay afloat, while black marketers sell between N300-N500 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had threatened that its members would not distribute products for any depot that sells above the official rate, but defending the increased pump price, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Benin Depot, Douglas Iyike, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the increment was due to a hike in the ex-depot price of petrol and not any fault of the oil retailers.
“We want to place it on record that the increment is not due to any fault of oil marketers because we can only sell based on the price at which we buy petrol from the depots. There has been an increment in the ex-depot price which has left marketers with no option but to increase the pump price of petrol above the official N165 per litre in recent weeks,” Iyike said.
He added: “We believe that addressing the issue of the ex-depot price should be the focus of NUPENG and not attempting to picket petrol stations, which might lead to a breakdown of law and order”.
Sources at the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, the regulatory body in charge of ensuring that oil marketers operate within the approved standards told TNG that some oil majors like Total, Oando and Conoil who appear to sell at the official N165/litre, short-change the public by exceeding the tolerable error limit of 300-500 millimetres to above one litre.
“The standard for measurement is 20 litres. So what that means is that for every 20 litres of fuel you pay for, you are getting 19 litres. Total is the worst as they sometimes have up to 2 litres error, depending on the location of the station. It is difficult to enforce sanctions such as sealing of the station or revoking of certificates at a time like this because the consumers are willing to pay for it,” one source said.
In addition to these challenges, there has been an increase in the global cost of crude oil, from a market price of N234 ($0.61) per litre last year, to N310 ($0.74) per litre this month as the market price of a barrel of crude hit $118. Nigeria’s N17.126 trillion budget for 2022 and the supplementary budget of N2.56trillion for subsidy were anchored on an oil price benchmark of $62 per barrel.
The NNPC has been importing fuel at the market price and selling at N162 ($0.42) per litre through a subsidy intervention, but analysts fear that the country could go bankrupt if oil price continues to soar and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the IMF and World Bank have advised Nigeria to stop the fuel subsidy scheme to free resources for development.
Reacting to the escalating price of crude oil at the international market, President Muhammadu Buhari said at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022) that the trend presents a unique revenue opportunity that Nigeria must seize.
“Crude oil prices are on the rise again after turning negative in April 2020. It is a great opportunity for us as a country. With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place, there should be no excuses. The enabling investment environment, which has been the bane of the industry has been taken care of by provisions in the PIA,” Buhari said.
On his part, Chairman of MOMAN Adetunji Oyebanji, explained that: “The benefit of a liberalized downstream is the most visible means of growing the economy in the medium to long term. Nigeria can become the refining hub of West and Central Africa and eventually the whole of Africa if we stick to this path of investing in new refineries, adopting a cost optimization initiative, building an environment that promotes competition and creates a sustainable petroleum sector.
“These actions would lead to increased employment, reduced poverty and reduced social inequity. We must take advantage of the opportunities brought by the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and fully benefit from our barrels of crude, getting the maximum value it can bring Nigeria”.
Promoting Local Refining of Crude Oil through the PIA
Refineries in Nigeria are key national assets, and experts believe it is in the national interest if they are optimally run from a commercial perspective. The NNPC has four refineries – two in Port Harcourt (PHRC) and one each in Kaduna (KRPC) and Warri (WRPC), which together have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.
Despite the fact that the country has expended N1.47 trillion running and maintaining them between January 2015 to June 2020, these facilities have remained largely moribund, as the capacity utilization of the three refineries was put at 4.88 per cent in 2015; 11.92 per cent in 2016; 18.13 per cent in 2017; 10.13 per cent in 2018 and 2.19 per cent in 2019.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) establishes a new reality for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry Section 32 (e, f) empowers the NNPC to provide pricing and tariff frameworks based on a fair market value and not set or dictate prices and tariffs or pay subsidies.
In a bid to implement the Act, the Nigerian government had only provided subsidy for the first half of 2022, but the plan to remove subsidy was met with stiff resistance from labour unions that threatened to ground the country, compelling the government to extend the subsidy to the second half of 2022 through a supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly.
However, oil and gas expert Omowunmi Iledare, said subsidy removal would not only lessen fiscal budget debt financing but will also reduce drastically, FOREX volatility with less pressure from petroleum import demand on FOREX and in the long run encourage competitive pricing at the pump.
“There are those who will argue that if PIA 2021 is implemented within the context of petroleum price deregulation, there is going to be societal misfortunes – diminished energy access and affordability in terms of multi-dimension energy poverty index (MEPI), rising public transport fares, disproportionate income redistribution among the poor, inflation, and public discontentment.
“Nevertheless, the benefits of deregulation far outweigh the highlighted misfortunes in the long run. Political expediency trumping economic efficiency and effectiveness must not render PIA helpless in this debate,” Iledare argued.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, recently decried the huge subsidy spending, as he explained that Nigeria was a net importer of refined petroleum products and that this was counter-productive in terms of the rising prices of crude.
“In Nigeria right now, we are a net importer of petroleum products and when the prices of crude oil go up, they also affect the prices of petroleum products,” Sylva said.
On his part, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, insists that the transition “must have sanity” and guarantee the most-friendly fuel for the country in the short term of 10 years.
To this end, many Nigerians eagerly anticipate the commencement of the Dangote refinery, which is expected to begin processing of crude oil in the third quarter of 2022 at 650,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 102 million litres of oil per day, to meet Nigeria’s current 60 million litres per day consumption level.
In the meantime, the PIA stipulates that market forces should determine the price of fuel and many Nigerians view the current situation as a way of “testing the waters” before the total deregulation of the downstream sector; and they are bracing up for the challenges ahead.
The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) have suspended their planned strike after an intervention by the NNPC Ltd.
The parties also pledged collaboration on ensuring nationwide availability of petroleum products.
The suspension notice was made known in a communique following a critical stakeholders engagement between the NNPC Ltd., the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), PTD, NARTO, and NUPENG on Thursday, in Abuja.
The communique was jointly signed by Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Otunba Salmon Oladiti, National Chairman PTD , Mr Yusuf Otthman, NARTO President Comrade Williams Akporeha, NUPENG President and Abiodun Adeniji, Executive Director, Finance and Admin, NMDPRA.
NUPENG and PTD had declared to embark on strike based on its investigations which revealed that officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing were currently diverting the fund provided by NNPC Limited for the rehabilitation of 21 critical highways.
On Road Rehabilitation, the communique said NNPC provided updates on the current status of the road construction and rehabilitation projects under the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
It said the NNPC assured the stakeholders that the funding earmarked for the 21 critical roads would be applied for the intended purpose only.
”To allay the fears of the stakeholders, NNPC and all parties commit to working together in the monitoring of the road projects,” it stated..
On review of freight rate for transporters, the communique noted that the stakeholders requested for completion of the ongoing discussion on the review of the freight rates to cover operational costs.
It noted that the stakeholders highlighted the precarious situation that truck owners faced in the light of current economic realities.
It further noted that the NMDPRA informed the meeting that a committee was constituted to review the rates which included PTD, NARTO and NUPENG in addition to other stakeholders.
It stated that all parties agreed to work expeditiously towards concluding the review of the freight rate and make recommendations to the Government.
According to the communique, the Authority is to advise on definite close-out date during the week of Feb. 21.
”The parties also agreed to foster collaboration on ensuring nationwide availability of petroleum products.
”All parties agreed to work closely to ensure efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country,” it stated.
Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, NUPENG, has said it will not give further warning to embark on industrial action, if the N621bn provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for the rehabilitation of 21 critical highways is not utilized.
In NUPENG words “On the basis of this communique, the union suspended the intended industrial action, but we were very clear in our statement, that should the spirit and letter of the agreement not fully implemented with a focus on those jointly identified critical roads or attempt is made to divert the funds, the union will not give further warning to resume the intended actions.”
This was declared in a statement jointly signed by the union’s President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Olawale Afolabi.
NUPENG noted that it had started mobilizing members of the union for the sudden strike.
According to NUPENG, officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH) were currently diverting the N621bn provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for the rehabilitation of 21 critical highways.
NUPENG noted that roads rehabilitation pictures being brandished by the FMWH were photographs that were taken before the N621bn was approved.
The Union pointed out that agreements reached on the matter with the government and other stakeholders in two separate meetings were not upheld.
The officials of the Ministry of Works and Housing are going around showing pictures of roads done in June and August 2021 to justify payment made from the N621bn which was approved in October 2021 for the identified 21 critical roads
The statement read in part, “These two meetings resulted in the signing of a communique indicating the readiness and willingness of NNPC to finance the rehabilitation of identified 21 critical roads at an estimated sum of N621bn through road infrastructure tax credit scheme.
“Unfortunately, our worst fear concerning the struggle is gradually unfolding with information coming out from reliable sources that some elements in the garbs of being state governments, officials of Ministry of Works and Housing, and desperate politicians are already dipping their soiled hands into these funds and diverting them to roads already budgeted for and done since last year.”
“We have our facts and figures, and we shall not be cowed into allowing the N621bn to go the same way other budgeted funds have gone.”
The union demanded the immediate halt to the further release of the fund until a competent monitoring and validation team comprising all stakeholders that signed the communique was formed.
It demanded that the pre-award pictures of the 21 identified roads be taken, which would be compared with pictures of post repairs/reconstruction.
“The N621bn was approved because of our demand and struggle, therefore, we owe our members and the general public the responsibility to ensure that every kobo of the approved fund is accounted for. Taxpayers’ money must be accounted for. We demand immediate review of transport freight rates to reflect the operational realities of the petroleum distribution value chain,” NUPENG stated.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its planned strike.
This followed interventions and engagements with government agencies and institutions, including the NNPC.
The union expressed gratitude to NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari and his team of professionals over the roles they played in positively resolving the impasse.
It stated that: “NNPC’s management has once again proven to the union and the nation that it can be trusted in matters of ensuring decency of employment and peaceful industrial relations in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“On behalf of members of our union, we promise to reciprocate these commendable efforts with hitch-free and effective distribution of petroleum products during the forthcoming festive period.’’
NUPENG’s President, Mr Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Mr Afolabi Olawale made the declaration in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos.
On Nov. 25, NUPENG extended a 14-day ultimatum earlier given to the Federal Government by seven days.
The planned strike was to protest what NUPENG called non-implementation of agreements reached with government.
“Some of the resolutions from these engagements include commencement of the processes to clear all backlogs of arrears of salaries and allowances owed contract workers of Oil Mining Licence 42 before the end of December.
“The agreement and firm commitment to pay N2.13 million to each of the former employees of the big six contractors whose terminal benefits were short-paid in 2012 following the closure of the contract.
The National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Sunday said that the planned strike by its affiliate members, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), has been suspended.
The strike, which would have kicked off on Monday, was shelved because of the intervention by the Federal Government.
Mr Tayo Aboyeji, the South-West Zonal Chairman of NUPENG, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos.
According to Aboyeji, the suspension is to allow union’s representatives and that of government to address the knotty issues at stake.
“The leadership of the union after a brief meeting with representatives of government decided to suspend the strike in the interest of the nation.
“The meeting with the government continues during the week with the assurance that the union grievances will be positively addressed,” he said.
NUPENG had said on Saturday that the tanker drivers would commence strike on Monday over the deplorable state of the nation’s highways and other issues.
Aboyeji said the union has lost many lives and property due to bad roads.
“This is not the first time that we will signify our intention to go on strike but we have to call it off because it will generally affect majority of Nigerians but now our hands are tied,” he said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Sunday appealed to the drivers to immediately shelve their planned strike in order not to further hurt the economy and Nigerians in general.
Mr Garba Deen, the NNPC Spokesman, made the appeal in a statement in Abuja.
“While it is not the responsibility of the NNPC to build or rehabilitate roads, the national oil company reckons that any disruption in the distribution of petroleum products to different parts of Nigeria will adversely affect the business of the NNPC.
“It will also endanger energy security, which the country has enjoyed in recent times.
“In recognition of this, the NNPC wishes to assure the petroleum tanker drivers that in addition to the ongoing efforts by other agencies of government, the NNPC has initiated a process that will provide a quick and effective solution to the road network challenges as expressed by the PTD,’ he stated.
“We urge PTD to immediately call off the (planned) strike and give the current efforts by the government and its agencies a chance to solve the challenges in the interest of all.
“We also wish to strongly advise Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of petroleum products as the NNPC has sufficient stock to last through this festive season and beyond,’ he said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has called on petroleum tanker drivers to call off its planned strike action.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports tanker drivers under the auspices of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had threatened to embark on a strike effective December 11, 2021.
According to NUPENG, the strike is to protest the deplorable state of roads in the country.
However, Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC in a statement called on the drivers to call of the strike in the interest and welfare of the Nigerian people.
The statement reads: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation calls on Petroleum Tanker Drivers to, in the interest and welfare of the Nigerian people call off its planned strike action.
“The strike is about the condition of roads in various parts of Nigeria which are used for the distribution of goods and services including petroleum products.
“However, even though it is not the responsibility of the NNPC to build or rehabilitate roads, any disruption in the distrubution of petroleum products to different parts of Nigeria will adversely affect the business of the NNPC and endanger energy security, which the country has enjoyted for a long time now.
“In recognition of this, the NNPC wishes to assure the Petroleum Tanker Drivers that in addition to the ongoing efforts by other agencies of government, the NNPC has initiated a process that will provide a quick and effective solution to the roads network challenges as expressed by the PTD.
“Having recognised that the major reason slowing down the rehabilitation of the road networks in the country is the paucity of funds, the NNPC has expressed interest to invest in the reconstruction of select Federal roads under the Federal Government’s Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Task Credit Scheme.
“The thrust of the NNPC’s intervention is to make considerable funds available for the reconstruction of roads through it Future Tax Liability.
“NNPC as a responsible corporate entity recognises the legitimate concerns of the PTD, we however appeal to the leadership and members to reconsider their decision in the overall national interest.
“Accordingly, we urge PTD to immediately call off the strike notice and give the current efforts by government and its agencies a chance to solve the challenges in the interest of all.
“We also wish to strongly advise Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of petroleum products as the NNPC has sufficient stock to last through this festive season and beyond”.
Tanker drivers under the auspices of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) will commence strike on December 11, 2021 to protest the deplorable state of roads in Nigeria.
South-West Zonal Chairman of NUPENG, Tayo Aboyeji, said the drivers would withdraw their services on December 11 in protest of the many lives and properties lost to bad roads.
NUPENG said each time they were to go on strike, they had to call it off “because it will generally affect the majority of Nigerians.”
However, this time around the union said their hands are tied. “We are going on nationwide strike because of the deplorable and shameful state of our highways.”
Lamenting over Nigeria’s deplorable road, they said, “When a truck loads petrol in Lagos, the drivers spend five to six days to get to Abuja because of the shameful state of the roads.
“All calls by the executive of petroleum unions have fallen on the deaf ears of the government as the highways continue to deteriorate nationwide.
Blaming the Federal Government, Mr Aboyeji said NUPENG “cannot continue to fold its hands while our members are getting burnt everywhere and every day.”
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) has threaten to shutdown Nigeria if Governor Nasir El-Rufai continue to handle the demands of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with levity.
NUPENG disclosed this in a press statement signed by its National President Comrade Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Comrade Afolabi Olawale on Tuesday.
According to the statement;
“NUPENG is deeply saddened with the violent turn of NLC peaceful protests by the dictatorial and despotic regime of Governor Nasir El-Rufai in Kaduna State.
The leadership of the union is therefore calling on the Federal Government to immediately call on Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to order before his arrogance and power drunk ego further push the situation into horrendous calamity as he has been doing in all issues relating to human lives and wellbeing.
Consequently, the Union reiterates that no Labour Leaders or workers as the case may be, be harmed, harassed, maimed, humiliated or victimized during this 5-day peaceful protests in the State.
Our Union is raising this alarm following the very reliable report of the clandestine move of Governor Nasir El-RUfai to hurt and put the lives of NLC President,Comrade Ayuba Wabba and other Labour Leaders to danger in his usual blind egotistical style of running government in the State
NUPENG therefore warns that if any harm is inflicted on any of the members of organized Labour, the Leadership of the Union will not hesitate to call on all our members throughout the nation for a total shut down of all our services in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
In the light of the above, we are therefore putting all NUPENG members nationwide on red alert and may at very short notice of five hours call for a nationwide industrial action if situation arises
Our solidarity remains constant for the Union makes us strong.”
