The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) unanimously agreed that the payment of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government has become unsustainable. The PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo said this at the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja. He noted that the activities of oil thieves has put the country’s finances in a dire state, and inadvertently put government finances in a very tough situation.
He further said that while the association is not opposed to the end of fuel subsidy, it also want the government to cut its wastefulness. He said: “They should cut down on the excesses before seeking the support of the Union. Even when we know that it is not sustainable for the Federal Government to be spending about 6 or 7 trillion Naira on subsidy payment; it is not sustainable considering planning the challenge that we have today.”
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, in his keynote address said for the petroleum industry to exist, the country needs to urgently arrest the massive oil theft in the Niger Delta. Except this is done, Kyari said Nigeria’s oil assets will be completely destroyed. Kyari attested to the fact that the country has not been reaping the dividend of high oil prices the way it should because of the activities of oil thieves and vandals.
