The federal government has assured Nigerians of a stable supply of petroleum products amid the face-off between Dangote Refinery and the Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Mohammed Manga, the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Finance, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The assurance comes after the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative met on Sunday to review developments in the downstream oil sector.
Minister of Finance, Wale Edun chaired the meeting, which dwelled on two issues: the purported suspension of the Naira-for-crude oil arrangement by the Dangote Refinery, which has since been amicably resolved, and the concerns raised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) regarding the Dangote Refinery.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the committee reassured that the crude oil for the Naira initiative will continue.
“It also assured that all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery, are being addressed with urgency and in good faith.
“The federal government remains fully committed to ensuring energy security, protecting consumers, and maintaining stability in the domestic petroleum products market,” the statement reads.
“They reaffirmed that there will be no disruption in the supply of refined petroleum products across the country”, it added.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, who also chairs the Technical Committee; the representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd., Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Afreximbank; and the Dangote Refinery.
This comes amid the fight between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSN.
On Sunday, PENGASSAN declared a nationwide strike against Dangote Refinery over the mass sacking of workers.
The union also directed members to cut gas and crude supply to the refinery until it reverses its anti-labour practices.
Nigerian govt assures of petrol stability amid Dangote Refinery, PENGASSAN feud