Oil crisis worsens as PENGASSAN begins nationwide strike

Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have commenced a nationwide strike.

The strike is coming amid fuel scarcity which has lasted two weeks.

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, had attributed the scarcity to a shortfall in the supply of oil products, promising that queues at filling stations would “disappear in a couple of days”.

In a statement last week, PENGASSAN had given Neconde Energy Limited, a private firm, a 72-hour ultimatum to reverse the dismissal of some of its members.

Kachikwu’s efforts to broker a peace deal fell through, resulting to the industrial action of Monday.

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, had also pleaded with the union to shelve the strike, saying Nigerians should be saved from further hardship during the Christmas and New Year celebration.

PENGASSAN members mainly work in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.