Again, FG Says No To N65 Petrol Price; PENGASSAN To Cut Oil Supply

... As PENGASSAN Threatens To Shut Nation's Oil Facilities.

SAN FRANCISCO, January 11, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government Wednesday maintained that it would not reverse its decision to remove the subsidy on petrol despite the mass protests and riots that have trailed the decision.

Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, who spoke to State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting said though negotiations between government and labour had opened, “Deregulation is important and here to stay.”

The Minister accused labour leaders of bringing hardship to business owners and Nigerians with the ongoing nationwide strike that entered its third day today.

Labour leaders and government representatives have been locked in negotiations facilitated by the Senate President, Senator David Mark. So far, no deal has been made between both parties on the very contentious fuel subsidy.

Petroleum workers Wednesday threatened to shut off oil supply if government continues to maintain its hard line position.

PENGASSAN Union President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun in a statement Wednesday said, “PENGASSAN is fully in support of the action as directed by NLC & TUC. We hereby thank all Nigerians for their resolve on this peaceful mass protest.

“As an affiliate of TUC, industrial action commenced on Monday, January 9, 2012 in all of our offices across the nation and all offices are closed.

“In line with the above, no report is currently being generated from production locations to both DPR and FGN. This is one of the very first step in shut down process.

“We believe that a Government that is alive to it's responsibilities will not allow this strike to degenerate thus far.

“Now that the Federal Government has decided to be callous minded, we hereby direct all production platforms to be on red alert in preparation for total production shutdown.

“We reiterate that before the removal of fuel subsidy, some conditions must be met. These are: Fixing of the four refineries and building new ones, regular power supply, provision of social infrastructures such as rail system and roads and crucially the elimination of corruption associated with supply and distribution of petroleum products in the downstream sector of the oil industry. All Nigerians should please note that the fuel subsidy issue is only a tip of the iceberg amidst a plethora of issues needing urgent redress.

“We hereby call on all Nigerians not to be weary, but keep faith in the collective will of the people to liberate us from this miss-rule.”