By G9ija
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Thursday described as disturbing the fact that the federal government is allegedly demonstrating a high level of culpability in the persistent shortages of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the country.
Comrade Festus Osifo, the President of PENGASSAN, who stated this at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association in Abuja, noted that the persistent PMS in the country has become a source of pain to the Nigerian people,
He stated that the current shortages are being perpetuated by players in the downstream sector in other to hike the price far above the government-approved threshold.
Comrade Osifo demanded that the various security agencies, especially the men of Nigerian Customs and Immigration charged with manning the nation’s borders act professionally and in dictates to their oaths of allegiance to stop the high rate of smuggling of the products across the West African countries.
“The persistent shortages of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the country has become a source of pain to the Nigerian people as the current shortages are been perpetuated by players in the downstream sector in other to hike the price far above the government approved threshold.
“It is an added problem when non-state actors begin to arrogate to themselves the power to determine the price of a litre of fuel far above the rate pegged by the government in the current subsidy regime.
“It is more disturbing that the government is equally demonstrating a high level of culpability in the unwholesome situations by its silence and unwillingness to frontally and publicly address the harrowing experiences of Nigerians in the current situation because no concerned and responsive government will bury its head in the sands like the proverbial Ostrich while the citizens are being brutally exploited.
“We demand that the various security agencies, especially the men of Nigerian Customs and Immigration charged with manning the nation’s borders act professionally and in dictates to their oaths of allegiances to stop the high rate of smuggling of the products across the West African countries.
“The various deports and other storage facilities especially those owned and operated by the NNPC should be upgraded and made accessible to all operators to lift the product.
“Consequently, we demand an immediate end to the avoidable, unnecessary, crippling and pain-inducing fuel shortages and unapproved price hikes in the country. No excuse is good enough to cripple the country. If there are challenges, they should be fixed; we have a government in power to fix challenges not to make excuses.
“We are ready and willing to collaborate with the Federal Government and assist in all ways possible to overcome the country’s present challenges. But we caution it not to take the Nigerian people for granted as it seems to be manifestly doing on various crucial national issues” he said.
PENGASSAN also demanded the stoppage of pensions to all political office holders and kill any idea of further increasing their salaries until they justify such increment by first putting the economy in a proper shape and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
The association decried what it described as growing multidimensional poverty expressing worry at the ever-increasing poverty status of Nigerians despite the abundance of human and natural resources.
According to the group, a report by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Bureau of Statistics on the results of the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey released in November 2022, shows that poverty in all ramifications has gotten to an all-time worst.
The NEC meeting also addressed the implications of the numerous challenges confronting including the 2023 budget and debt services, credible elections, use of technology in curbing crime, and prosecution of oil theft and pipeline vandalism culprits, among others
