Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Thursday said it was not in any meeting with representatives of the federal government over its planned national strike, saying the industrial action will go on.
It stated in Abuja that no meeting was held between it and the government at the instance of the ministries of petroleum resources and labour and employment as announced on Wednesday by the government.
It said that there was no way it could get all its executive members to attend the planned meeting summoned by the government in Abuja on Thursday, adding that it was a public holiday.
The government had in its desire to avert the planned strike by PENGASSAN, announced its scheduling of a meeting with the oil workers for Thursday at the headquarters of the federal ministry of petroleum resources.
The meeting, according the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry of labour and employment, Samuel Olowookere, was to discuss the modalities for ending the lingering crisis in the petroleum sector.
But findings at the petroleum resources ministry on Thursday indicated that no meeting was held.
Sources including security officials at the ministry told THISDAY that they were not aware of such meeting and that such was not in their log book for expected visitors of either the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or the ministry.
One of the security sources at the NNPC explained: “If there is any meeting here today we will be told and the details of those to attend will be sent to us in order to ease clearance, but nothing of such was given. So there is no meeting whatsoever happening here today. If there is any, then it is not here.”
Further details later
