By Omodele Adigun
The nationwide strike called by PENGASSAN on Monday has paralysed activities in many oil and gas companies across the country.
PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery started a crisis at the weekend over the sack of about 800 workers in the refinery who allegedly belong to the association.
In a retaliatory move, PENGASSAN directed its members to halt supply of crude oil and gas to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery immediately.
It also directed all its members to go on a nationwide strike from Monday.
The strike has started taking toll on major oil and gas companies in the country like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to correspondents, activities in these companies were parlaysed as of Monday morning as their gates were closed against workers who were reporting for duty.
The gates to the NNPC headquarters in Abuja were shut against the workers as early as 8.00 am on Monday
An official of PENGASSAN in NUPRIC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the shutdown of the company in compliance with directive form his national headquarters.
He said the company was observing full compliance of the directive.
Security men said that staff were allowed to enter the premises in compliances with the directive issued by the union on strike.
Activities at the NMDPRA headquarters in Abuja wee also paralysed as workers were barred from entering the premised by security operatives.
Muhammad Dangyadi, the Minister of Labour and Employment, has warned against the adverse consequences of the strike in view of the importance of petroleum sector to the economy in his statement.
In a statement on Sunday, he said the federal government was aware of the consequences of such strike as it would not only lead to heavy revenue losses by the country, but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians.
“Consequentially, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security,” the minister said.
