Civil servants union urges FG to address lingering petrol scarcity
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Tommy Okon, has voiced his concerns regarding the persistent fuel scarcity and extensive queues at petrol stations.
He strongly urged the federal government to honour its commitment to repair the Port Harcourt refinery, viewing it as a crucial step towards eliminating the fuel queues.
President of ASCSN, Dr Tommy Okon, spoke yesterday during the Association’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Lagos. He mentioned that this problem is negatively impacting the economy and worsening the suffering, hardship, and challenges encountered by Nigerians, especially the workers.
According to him, “The president has assured us that removing the subsidy will create a market for demand and supply. However, we are concerned about the cabals in the sector and urge the government to investigate Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to end the suffering of the masses.
‘’The government had promised that the Port Harcourt refinery would be operational by April, but it’s already May and we haven’t seen any progress.
” They also assured us that the Dangote Refinery would resolve the current fuel scarcity issues. However, there seems to be a policy somersault confusing. We demand that NNPC should come out and tell us the truth about whether they are still paying subsidies or not, rather than just speculating.”
He stated that the proposed increase in the national minimum wage to N615,000 by the Labour Union is a feasible demand. He challenged those who are against this proposal to present their proposals and argued that the Labour Union has done the necessary calculations and presented a reasonable demand. He also stated that there are exemptions to this proposal, which will be addressed later. He emphasized that the government needs to act on this demand and reminded that the demand was made before any increase in electricity tariffs.
