Why we backed out of Labour strike –PENGASSAN …As IPMAN welcomes deregulation

                                                                                                                            
      THE Petroleum and Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said it backed out of the ongoing nationwide indefi­nite strike led by the Nige­ria Labour Congress (NLC) following the withdrawal of its parent body, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other key unions in the country.
PENGASSAN spokesper­son, Babatunde Oke, who spoke in a telephone inter­view explained that NLC operates
on its own and the plot to still carry out the strike to protest increase in pump price of petrol by gov­ernment effects only its af­filiates. “We are not part of the strike because we are af­filiates of TUC and not NLC. And so, we have no reason to join the strike at the in­stance of NLC. We are auto­matically out of it since TUC has withdrawn,” noting that the strike failed partly be­cause of TUC’s withdrawal.
“As you can see, the strike has failed. Everything is normal both in Abuja and Lagos. Reports from other states also confirmed that normal activities went on,” he stated.
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and PENGASSAN have shunned the strike by Or­ganised Labour to protest the hike in the price of pet­rol to between N135 and N145 per litre. At the head office of the Nigerian Na­tional Petroleum Corpo­ration (NNPC), in Abuja, normal official activities went on as well as at the headquarters of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja.
PENGASSAN, PPPRA Abuja Chapter Chairman, Mr. Victor Ononokpono, who also spoke in Abuja said that PPPRA staff nationwide did not participate in the strike in line with the directive from their national body.
Meanwhile the Indepen­dent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IP­MAN) said the liberalisa­tion of the petroleum down­stream sector will engender competition, which will like­ly lead to price reduction.
IPMAN President, Chief Obasi Lawson, who made the observation during an inter­view with newsmen in Abuja yesterday, urged Nigerians to ignore those calling for strike against the policy.
Lawson admitted that the masses will feel initial pain from the implementation of the policy but assured that in less than one month Nigeri­ans will start reaping the ben­efits of the new policy.
“The new policy of the Federal Government that ef­fected the change in price of PMS is a welcome develop­ment. We, the members of IPMAN welcome the policy because it is going to bring about total liberalisation and also engender healthy competition in the indus­try.”