The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has warned that the lingering impasse between the federal government and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) could have a negative effect on the nation’s oil and gas industry.
It, therefore, called for a quick resolution of the dispute between the two parties.
PENGASSAN had on Monday embarked on an indefinite strike, following the expiration of an earlier seven-day ultimatum given to the government to agree to its demands, and on Wednesday announced negotiations between it and the government had failed to yield results.
The action followed the protracted disagreement between PENGSSAN and the federal government, over the latter’s directive on registration of its members on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Stressing the importance of PENGASSAN in distribution of petroleum products in the country, IPMAN’s president, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos, that the body must not be underrated by the government.
He explained, “Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had assured the public that there would be no shortage in fuel supply.
“They are very important in the value chain of distribution and supply of petroleum products and nobody should underrate their importance.
“The government should listen to them and find a common ground because a lingering strike by them is not good for the industry.”
Okoronkwo, however, stressed that IPMAN was an association and not a trade union and would continue to render its services to ensure that petroleum products get to the end users.
(NAN)