PENGASSAN strike: NNPC advises Nigerians against panic buying
… Says over 2.9 billion litres of petrol available for Yuletide
By Fredrick Wright
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)has dismissed mounting insinuation of possible scarcity of petroleum products following ongoing disagreement between the Federal Government and members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) on the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru, in a statement to SlyNews quoted the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari as saying, that the industrial action embarked upon by PENGASSAN would not lead to scarcity of petroleum products as all fuel stations and petrol depots in the country have enough stock of products to service consumers and are open for business.
While expressing hope that the industrial dispute would be settled amicably, Kyari assured that the Corporation has thus far emplaced a stock of over 2.9 billion litres of petrol to guarantee seamless movement of people, goods and services across the country in the forthcoming Christmas season and beyond.
The NNPC GMD reiterated that the Corporation is determined to make the 2020 end-of-year festivities a zero fuel queue period just like the preceding year, noting that critical stockholders in the petroleum products supply and distribution chain such as tanker drivers, depot owners and road transport owners have been mobilized to ensure hitch-free season.
PENGASSAN announced on Monday that it is going on strike over the inability of the union and the Federal Government to reach an agreement over the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment system.
The union also accused the FG of failure to pay arrears owed to members in the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).
The President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, also accused the FG of negligence during negotiations, citing unpaid arrears to members of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which he said have not been remitted since 2019.
