by Bassey Udo,
Nigerian oil workers are going ahead with their planned strike today( Thursday), despite reports that the government had commenced talks with their leaders, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said.
The acting general secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday morning that they were not aware of any negotiations between any arm of the association and the government on any of their demands.
“It is not true there are on-going negotiations between PENGASSAN and government. Apart from the inconclusive negotiation on June 23, which was rescheduled to June 30, only to be put off indefinitely with no further appointment, we are not aware of any other negotiation with government,” Mr. Okugbawa said.
He said reports of negotiations with the oil workers was part of the government’s characteristic way of causing confusion whenever a strike notice is issued.
“If government was sincere, why would it always wait till after the strike had already started before coming out in the media to talk about non-existing negotiations?” he asked. Read full in PremiumTimes
File protest photo
