- Says high price of kerosene, cooking gas, aviation fuel unacceptable
UFOMBA UZUEGBU
Worried by the endless queues that Nigerians face in the petrol station on a daily basis, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the nation’s oil and Gas industry to double their effort in putting the incessant queues to an immediate end.
The union expressed dismay over the high prices of kerosene, cooking gas, aviation fuel and diesel, saying they are unacceptable to Nigerians.
President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo who stated these while briefing newsmen on the state of the nation, in Lagos on Wednesday (yesterday) said; “the fact these products have since been deregulated does not give marketers the opportunity to exploit Nigerians.”
The union urged the Federal government to remove all forms of taxes and levies from the importation of petroleum products.
Continuing, Osifor said; “the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas and other gas producers should be mandated to focus much more on domestic gas production.
“Efforts should be intensified to fast track the current rate of rehabilitation of the nation’s four refineries to guarantee energy security while on the short term, make Foreign Exchange available to the importers at the official rate.”
On crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the PENGASSAN helmsman lamented that this unwholesome trend have been exacerbated in recent times.
According to him; another problem arising from vandalism is that companies are forced to go into curtailment when these assets/export pipelines are damaged as they cannot export what they produce.
The union charged the Federal Government to work with stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, including the national security architecture, as a matter of national importance to find a lasting solution to the menace that is almost bringing the oil and gas industry to its knees.
“We expect that the managers of the pipelines imbibe the culture of regular maintenance while the government will live up to its responsibility of providing adequate security.
“We also call on the Government to review the enacting legal instruments for sanctioning violators/defaulters”, Osifo added.
