NUPENG, PENGASSAN Support FG New Petrol Pump Price Increase

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have thrown their weight behind the Federal Government new petrol pump price.

The two prominent unions in the oil and gas sector of the country on Friday sanctioned the price modulation mechanism by the Federal Government to arrive at the new N145 per litre pump price for petrol.

In a communiqué released at the end of a Joint National Executive Council Meeting held on Friday in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State in southern Nigeria, it stated that: “The increment was a step in the right direction.

“Government needs to engage with stakeholders to work out a clear direction on how to invest the gains into the economy to cushion the effect of the price”.

“The bodies, therefore, called on the government to intensify efforts in ensuring that, it puts in place machinery to ensure optimal performance of existing refineries.”

It also resolved that the decision of the Federal Government to deregulate the downstream sector of the oil was to encourage investment in refineries, make the product available and drive down the pump price.

The President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Francis Olabode-Johnson and the President of NUPENG, Igwe Achese, were also at the meeting.

They further stressed that there should be an immediate commencement of negotiation of minimum wage for workers across all cadres, in order to cushion the effect of the price increase.

They also stated that there was the need to “engage critical stakeholders for the Federal Government to provide a road map with timelines of the infrastructures it intend to embark upon with the proceeds from this price modulation to cushion the harsh effects of the new direction.

“Immediate reconstitution of the board of PPPRA and PEF for the management of the new price regime and the reconstitution and the re-strengthening of relevant agencies such as Standard Organization of Nigeria, DPR and the Nigeria Customs and Excise Department to prevent the abuse of the new framework of PMS supply and distributions.”