Fuel
queues were already resurfacing gradually in some filling stations in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja because of the ongoing strike by the Petroleum
and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) which began on
Friday
It
was observed that motorists formed long queues in front of the two filling
stations, Conoil and Total, located opposite the towers housing the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
In
the city centre, it was observed that most of the stations were open for
business, but they still had queues, as motorists rushed to fill up their
tanks.
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.
On
his part, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, appealed to
the union to suspend the strike so as not to deepen the poor state of the
economy, while expressing optimism that the issue would be resolved on Monday.
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