Fuel scarcity looms, as workers embark on strike

SCARCITY of petroleum products looms in the country, due to the indefinite strike embarked upon by workers of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) in all the depots across Nigeria entered the second day.The workers had embarked upon the strike to protest the suspension of their branch chairman, Mohammed Seyi Gambo, for six months without pay by the management of the agency.The strike was in compliance with the directive by the national secretariat of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) that the workers should stop distribution of fuel throughout the country, pending the resolution of the issue.In a letter dated November 15, 2011 and addressed to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the union threatened to call for a national strike if the suspension letter was not withdrawn within seven days.Meanwhile, the crisis and other issues related to PEF are being slated as priority for discussion during the next NEC meeting of the union scheduled for Warri, Delta State, in December.Investigations revealed that PEF management, headed by the Executive Secretary, Mrs Sharon Kasali, who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on the basis of more than a billion naira fraud, is being vilified for raising the alarm on corruption and stagnation of staff due for promotion in the last five years.
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