Oil marketers continue strike despite FG’s promises
Oil
marketers in the country are still on strike despite the promises by
the Federal Government on Thursday that verified subsidy arrears would
soon be paid to them.
The marketers, who spoke to our correspondent on
Friday, confirmed that the government had yet to contact them for
deliberations.
The FG on Thursday, through the Ministry of Finance,
directed the Debt Management Office to pay marketers all subsidy claims
that had been verified.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had
said the claims would be paid as soon as the Petroleum Products Pricing
and Regulatory Agency provided the supporting Sovereign Debt Notes. But
she did not disclose the total amount to be paid to the marketers.
The minister, in a statement by her Senior Special
Assistant on Communication, Mr. Paul Nwabuiku, had said there was no
need for the marketers to go on strike since the government was already
addressing the subsidy payment issue.
Confirming the position of the marketers on Friday,
the President, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Chief
Dapo Abiodun, said, “Of course we are still on strike. We have not
heard from the government yet. There has been no meeting between us and
government.”
He said officially, neither the association nor its members had been communicated to in that regard.
He said, “What we hear are just rumours that we’ll be paid.”
Our correspondent learnt from some members of the
Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria that the government had
yet to reach them on the development.
Marketers had said on Wednesday that they were awaiting proof from the government that it would actually pay the claims.
When asked if the current strike would be called off
following the promise by the government to pay, they had said, “We will
wait until we have a proof of that. Nobody has told us that.”
DAPPMA had said it would wait until the government’s
intention to pay the verified subsidy arrears was formally communicated
to it.
Abiodun, who spoke on behalf of the association, also
said if the development was confirmed, the association might do some
reconsiderations as regards the current strike embarked upon by its
members.
The Chairman, Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of
Nigeria, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, had said before the association would call
off its strike, the government must meet its conditions.
He said, “We must have a Memorandum of Understanding
with the government on how this business will be run. The government
should settle the subsidy claims and design the future of this
industry.”
In the same vein, the Executive Secretary, Major
Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, had told our
correspondent that, “Let the government pay; we are waiting.
“We don’t expect them to pay unverified claims; but they should be fast in verifying all the claims.”
