The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged the Federal Government to settle all debts allegedly owed oil marketers to prevent mass retrenchment in the sector.
The call is in reaction to threat by the marketers to embark on massive retrenchment of their employees if the government refused to pay the over N720 billion subsidy arrears.
Fortune Obi, National Public Relations Officer, PENGASSAN in a statement said the debts were the outstanding subsidy owed on the importation of petroleum products, accrued interest on loans from banks and exchange rate differential.
The union said the debts resulted in halt in the importation of refined petroleum products, leaving only the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) doing the business.
It appealed to government to pay the debts owed the marketers to speed growth and attract more investment in the downstream sector.
”A situation where the workers in the industry bear the inability of the government to honour its obligations as part of the importation deal will be unfair and unacceptable to our Association. This is against the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration major policy of job creation.
”As a responsible trade union, as much as we will support any move by the government to end subsidy regime and spurious claims by the marketers, we are also canvassing for the payment of debts that can hinder the growth of the downstream sector and attract investments into the sector,” the union said.
