Barring any last minute agreement, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASAN) will embark on an indefinite strike action on Wednesday, in order to protest the way and manner the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has been running the oil sector since assuming office.

It was learnt that the National Leadership of PENGASAN met in Kaduna yesterday to strategise on how to prosecute a successful all out strike immediately after the Sallah holiday.

According to an insider, senior Staff of the petroleum sector are particularly angry with Dr. Kachikwu over Federal Government’s failure to fund its Joint Venture Companies (JVC) with multinational oil companies.

The source told our correspondent, “Already, the multi nationals are threatening to lay off staff and this will affect our members mostly. You will recall that we had embarked on a warning strike sometimes back but the issues have not been addressed.”

The source, who doesn’t want to be named, accused the Minister of running a “one man show “as he doesn’t consult anyone regarding how the oil sector should operate.

“The management style of Kachikwu has pitched him against most senior Staff and experts in the Industry,” the source said. Our correspondent also learnt that the Minister’s decision to transfer all the management staff of PPMC to Abuja since last year, has been another source of friction between Kachikwu and PENGASAN.

“The management staff of PPMC are redundant in Abuja because they have nothing to do, having been deployed there without any clear cut reason for doing so,” he added.

He pointed out that although citizens will be faced with another round of fuel scarcity, it has become necessary to embark on the strike in order to save the industry from collapse, owing to Kachikwu’s alleged high handedness.

According to him, the strike is a necessary inconvenience which will highlight the problems in the oil sector, contrary to what the Minister is making the government to believe. As at the time of filing this report, the National leadership of PENGASAN was still meeting at its secretariat along Constitution Road, Kaduna.

•Sourced from Sunday Telegraph.

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