03 October 2012, Sweetcrude, LAGOS – THE National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has called on Nigerians to hold the government and the its agencies such as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC, and Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, responsible for the unending fuel scarcity in the country.
This came as Joint Action Front, JAF, the umbrella body for pro-labour civil society groups in the country alleged surreptitious plot by the Federal Government and the oil marketers to impose a new price regime for petroleum products, thereby artificially inducing and encouraging scarcity of petroleum products (petrol, kerosene and diesel) and its attendant hike in prices across the country.
NUPENG, in a statement, declared that NNPC’s claim of holding fuel reserve that could last for 45 days was a ruse and called on the government to do the right thing and stop the current fuel scarcity.
It assured that NUPENG members, especially the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, were at work but had no sufficient products to load at the depots for distribution.
In the statement by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Isaac Aberare, NUPENG called on government to pay verified oil marketers subsidies on products supplied, so that they can import fuel and pay banks monies owed them, in order to flood the market again.
“NUPENG adds that Nigerians should not be allowed to suffer and pay more for petroleum products because the appropriate agencies and government are not proactive enough.The union stresses that the persistent fuel scarcity must not be allowed to go into the Sallah and Christmas festive periods, as hoarding may become the order of the day. NUPENG calls on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to monitor sales of products and sanction filling stations that sell above the approved rate,” it said in the statement.
The union urges the government to take the Turn-Around-maintenance of the nation’s four refineries seriously to avoid the national embarrassment continued fuel importation was causing Nigeria.
