The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) members threatened on Wednesday to withdraw their entire workforce from all oil and gas installations nationwide in protest of the rising oil theft and vandalism, raising the possibility of yet another fuel shortage in Nigeria.
At a news conference held in Abuja, Festus Osifo, the president of PENGASSAN, announced the association’s goals while bemoaning how crude oil theft had destroyed the country’s economy.
However, he stated that oil workers are prepared to leave the industry if the government only gives lip service to their requests for a sincere and focused response to the threat.
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He claims that although other countries’ governments use cutting-edge technology to combat such terrible sabotage acts, the Federal Government is powerless in the face of the outcry and economic harm that pipeline vandalism and oil theft are causing to the country.
Osifo, who called the rise in oil theft events a serious problem, urged the government to muster the strength and political will necessary to root out oil thieves who are damaging the country’s pipelines.
He claims that some cartels are to blame for the problem and that they are ruining the economy and gorging themselves on the wealth of the country.
The PENGASSAN leader stressed that “starting today across four states in Abuja, Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt, all members of PENGASSAN will embark on rally across strategic locations to sensitize the nation on the dangers and economic losses inherent in crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.” He noted that crude oil theft had destroyed the economy and the union could no longer hold its breath.
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He bemoaned the fact that OPEC’s quota of 1.8 million barrels of crude oil could no longer be met by Nigeria owing to oil theft, despite the fact that the country is struggling to produce a million barrels and that firms are halting production.
Osifo stated that despite these talks, none had produced the desired result because the cartels that are mostly gorging on it and shattering the economy had met and dialogued with key stakeholders, government agencies, and service heads on how to stop oil theft.
To this end, he claimed that the union could not take it any longer and decided to hold a national rally to inform Nigerians of the situation in the industry and the reasons why the country’s economy is not expanding appallingly.
According to him, if the exercise is ultimately found to be without purpose, the union would mobilize the entire workers at all oil and gas plants across the nation for a full-scale confrontation.
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“This is a menace that is leapfrogging the country. This is the reason Nigeria keeps borrowing to finance the national budget. enough is enough. We have to add our voice to the current struggle. It is not going to be a one-off thing. Companies are shutting down, our members are losing their jobs in services and producing companies.
“The business is that bad now because companies are struggling to sustain the workforce. This is a real crisis that government of the day must develop the muscle and political will to chase out the oil thieves. What is happening is beyond blame game. This is the time to practicalise what we have been saying. The earlier government acts fact, the better for the economy,” he said.
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