Mr Chukwudi Ezinwa, the National Ex-Officio, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has urged the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to dialogue with Dangote Company over planned strike.
By Alex Enebeli
Mr Chukwudi Ezinwa, the National Ex-Officio, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has urged the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to dialogue with Dangote Company over planned strike.
Ezinwa, who is representing the East in IPMAN National Executive Council, appealed to NUPENG, to consider the hardship they would subject Nigerians to if they embarked on their proposed strike.
The IPMAN National Executive Committee member made the appeal at a press conference on Monday in Enugu.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NUPENG had announced that its members would commence a nationwide strike from Monday, and warned of an imminent nationwide fuel scarcity.
The strike is in protest against what it described as anti-labour practices linked to the deployment of newly imported Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks by the Dangote Refinery, for direct distribution of petroleum products.
According to him, there should be a dialogue, where parties can come together to discuss and find a common ground to settle it.
“I am glad that the Federal Government, through the Minister of Labour has summoned a meeting in this regard.
“That is the right way to go. I disagree completely with anybody calling for a strike at this moment.
“Nigeria is passing through a lot now and we cannot add more pain to the injury of the masses because the strike they are calling, Dangote and other wealthy Nigerians cannot feel it, but the common man on the street.
“So, I am of the opinion that people calling for strike should do that with restraint as it will cause inflation, panic buying and increase in price of petroleum products,” he said.
Ezinwa, also a former IPMAN Chairman, Enugu Depot, equally decried the call by IPMAN Zonal Chairman, East Zone, Prince Bobby Dick, that members from the zone should join the strike.
“So, I feel insulted by that call and that our constitution has been murdered. I have to address it to let the world know that Bobby Dick is not a Zonal chairman of IPMAN Eastern Zone.
“We cannot say anything on NUPENG issue for now because the national president of IPMAN has not made any pronouncement,” Ezinwa said.
He, however, said that IPMAN would play a fatherly role to ensure the matter was settled, describing the issue as “a problem between our employers and investors.
“Dangote is an investor and want to maximise profits; this is a matter of discussion if there are ways he is not getting it right, they will sit down with him to address it.
“He has a right to belong or not to belong to any union and NUPENG knows that downstream has been deregulated.
“And the deregulated industry is where everybody is competing to outwit his own brother and sell his own product,” he explained. (NAN)