By Etuka Sunday with agency report
Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Kaduna Refinery Branch, have given a 12-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and PENCOM to reverse the slashing of their contributory pension fund and also supply crude oil to the three refineries across the country, to enable them continue production of refined petroleum products.
Chairman, PENGASSAN (Kaduna Refinery branch), Sanusi Abdulhamik, in a statement he issued on Monday, said that the Kaduna Refinery has been shut down for a while due to what he termed as lack of turn around maintenance and non-availability of crude oil to enable the workers refine fuel, diesel and Kerosene.
He alleged that rather than supply crude oil to Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, the NNPC has resorted to importation of refined petroleum products into the country, a situation which he described as a deliberate plot by government to sell the three refineries to their cronies.
The workers threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if NNPC failed to supply the refineries with crude oil latest by Tuesday morning, and also service the plants for optimal performance.
While appealing to Nigerians not to see their action as being insensitive to their plight, Abdul-hamik explained that the decision to go on strike was inevitable since NNPC refused to turn around the refineries and supply crude oil to enable them perform their duties.
According to him, there is no justification for government to continue importing refined petroleum products when it can repair and maintain the existing refineries that can guarantee availability of the products across the country.
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