NUPENG MAY STOP SUPPLYING PETROL TO LAGOS

Tokunbo Korodo, NUPENG South-West Chairman said during a chat with NAN reporter in Lagos on Tuesday, December 29 that the decision has been made to cut the supply of PMS to Lagos because the State Government is owing the union over #224 million debt.
He disclosed that all efforts made to persuade through the Union letter dated Dec. 2, 2015 to Lagos state government which was acknowledged on Dec.4 to pay this money proved abortive. He said the unionhas no other option than to stop supplying petroleum products to all parastatal agencies of Lagos State.

The chairman said that the debt accrued from a contract awarded to the union by the state government which was financed by Skye Bank, and that the financial institution had been asking for repayment of the loan.

He explained further that the #224 million was for payment for the supply of diesel and kerosene to the government for direct labour projects in Ojodu which were executed between October 2014 and May 2015.“From today on, if this is not effective, we may be forced to abandon Lagos as a whole to demand for this payment as Skye Bank is on our neck for this payment,” Korodo said.

He said that NUPENG had tried its best to contact the Governor, Deputy Governor, Secretary to the State Government and the State Commissioner of Transportation on the issue, but to no avail.

Korodo who threatened that all unions in the oil sector would participate in the planned action, said: “If this payment is not made on time every union under oil workers will participate because an injury to one person of the union is injury to all members.”

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, had however given federal government conditions before accepting the decision to remove subsidy on petrol earlier.

The southwest chairman of the union during a briefing with newsmen in Lagos, on Monday, December 28, promised Nigerians that fuel scarcity would soon be a thing of the past as PMS will be available at filling stations.

The officials of the state ministry of transportation refused to comment on pretext that they are authorised to talk to newsmen on the matter.