Before removing fuel subsidies, the Federal Government has been instructed by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to make sure that local refineries are operating correctly.
According to Newsmen, the union announced this in a statement following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Lagos.
Prince Williams Akporeha, President of NUPENG, and Afolabi Olawale, General Secretary of NUPENG, respectively, both signed the communiqué.
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The union stated that although its members are not opposed to the elimination of the gasoline subsidy, they believe that local refining capacity has to be increased due to the socio-economic effects it will have on businesses and Nigerians.
It expressed concern that the government had not followed through on its pledges to put the three national refineries into operation before considering eliminating fuel subsidies.
The communique reads: “NEC-in-Council also examined the recurrent discussions for the removal of subsidy from the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, and expresses deep concerns over the failure of the Federal Government to do the needful as advised by Organised Labour that deregulation of the PMS should not be predicated on importation of the product because of all the obvious negative impacts on the socio-economic life of the people and nation in general.
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“The Council-in-session expressed disappointment in the failure of the government to deliver on its promises of making the three national refineries work before contemplating the removal of the subsidy on this very important economic item in view of the enormous implication and the impact on the economic activities and considering the socio-economic importance of PMS to ordinary Nigerians.
“The NEC-in-session reaffirms that in as much as our Union is not averse to the removal of PMS subsidy, the Federal Government must ensure that our local refineries are put into full operation before a such major policy decision is taken in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.”
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