All hopes of Nigerian commuters that the three-day warning strike by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum Engineers (NUPENG) would be resolved soon were dashed as a meeting between the labour union and the Federal Government yesterday ended in a deadlock.
National president of NUPENG Comrade Igwe Achese, who spoke after a joint NEC meeting with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), said the NEC of the union was meeting last night to review the ongoing industrial action.
“We had a meeting with the minister of labour on Monday but the meeting was inconclusive because we had a joint conference meeting with PENGASSAN; so we could not deliberate extensively,” he said.
Achese added that the action was not to create hardship for Nigerians but to protect the jobs that are existing in the country and to stop labour enslavement in the country.
He also claimed the union could not fold its hands as the nation allowed Nigerians to be enslaved in the oil and gas sector. “It is sad and we must say no to anti-people policy, but it is after the NEC meeting that we will be able to talk to the press if our strike will be put on hold,” he stated. “On PIB, oil theft, divestment, bad roads, general insecurity, guidelines on casualisation, expatriate quota — the joint council in session is requesting urgently the federal government, the various institutions to address these issues as quickly as possible.”
He also said that PENGASSAN had suspended its seven-day ultimatum to give room for dialogue on the issues, adding that stakeholders in the industry would be meeting today to fine-tune ways to end the crisis permanently.
Meanwhile, as NUPENG warning strike entered second day, long fuel queues were obstructing the free flow of traffic in some parts of Lagos.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent in Lagos observed that there was obstruction of traffic in areas like Falomo, Ikoyi; Victoria Island and Iponri as a result of long queues of motorists in fuel stations.
The situation was, however, normal in Surulere, Mushin, Ojota, Onipanu, Orile, Ojuelegba, Ikeja, Oshodi and Fadeyi.
NAN reports that few filling stations were, however, not selling the petroleum products.
Some motorists who spoke with NAN appealed to the Federal Government to immediately step in to address the situation before it became unbearable.
At Falomo in Ikoyi, only Oando and FO Filling Stations were selling out of the six filling stations in the area.
Mr Wale Esan, a civil servant, said that it was a shame that the government allowed the issue to degenerate into the strike.
“Government should dialogue with relevant agencies that are concerned because the situation is getting out of hand gradually,” he said.
Esan said that he had been on queue for almost two hours and described the situation as a set-back to government’s transformation agenda in the oil and gas sector.
The situation was different at the Oando Filling Station, Ojuelegba, where there was no long queue of vehicles.
Mr Seyi Awodele, a taxi driver, said that he was lucky to have filled his car having heard about the strike on Sunday evening.
Awodele, however, urged the government to immediately resolve the problem, saying that the situation might be worse on Wednesday.
In a related development, transport fare in Lagos metropolis was on Tuesday hiked by about 50 per cent, following the three-day warning strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
NAN observed that many of the bus stops were crowded as a result of the increased fares.
Mr Ike Moeme, a commuter, told NAN that buses have increased their fares as he paid N150 for a ride from Jibowu to Costain, instead of the usual N100.
“I also paid N200 from Iyana Ipaja to Jibowu this morning, instead of the normal N150.
“I appeal to the government to mediate in the issues of NUPENG before it advances to a national strike,” Moeme said.
Transport fares and the cost of petrol have gone up in Kaduna due to the warning strike by NUPENG as filling stations in Kaduna city remained shut for the second day running forcing vehicle owners to patronise fuel black marketers.
A gallon of petrol is now sold for N700 as against N500 before the strike, and one of the black market operators, Bashir Shaye, said “the price would increase day by day until the strike is called off.”
Similarly, transport fares have witnessed slight increase in some parts of the metropolis.
A resident, Stella Auta said she was made to pay N80 as against the usual N60 fare from Sabon Tasha to Kasuwa, while passengers going to Goningora from Kasuwa were asked to pay N120 as against N100.
In Ibadan, long queues have resurfaced; as early as 7.00 a.m, some filling stations were cautious about selling fuel to motorists while some had complied with the directive already. Later, the number of filling stations under lock and key swelled as Nigerian Tribune learnt that the state executive members of the union ensured strict compliance with the order.
From Sango to Ojoo, Bodija, Mokola, Jemibewon road, Iwo-road, Apata, Challenge, Molete, New Garage and others, long queues were seen at some of the filling stations which were earlier selling fuel to the public.
Some of the motorists who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune expressed surprise at the sudden artificial scarcity created by NUPENG, urging the Federal Government to sort things out with the union to save the economy from experiencing a slide at this moment.
Mrs Iya Adesanya, a trader, said that she paid N250 from Mile 12 to Oyingbo, instead of the previous N200.
Mr Tunde Emmanuel, a civil servant, said that he paid N400 from Ikorodu to Yaba, as against the usual N200.
Emmanuel also called on the government to settle the contentious issues, noting that if the oil and gas workers did not resolve their problems, Nigerians would suffer.
He said that the warning strike would affect the economy and increase the financial burden of the people.
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